Review: NORA: A DOLL'S HOUSE at Chandler Studio Theatre

Few plays have sparked as much controversy as Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House. First staged in 1879, its depiction of a woman rejecting the limitations imposed upon her shocked audiences and helped redefine modern drama. The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland's final-year BA Acting students now bring Stef Smith's Nora: A Doll's House to the stage, an adaptation that reframes the story across three distinct eras. Drawing striking parallels between past and present, Smith's version asks an uncomfortable question: how far have we really come?

Director Katherine Nesbitt’s work here is beautiful. We constantly weave in and out of the lives of Nora 3 in 1918 (Isabele Derosa), Nora 2 in 1968 (Casey Yang), and Nora 1 in 2018 (Amy Beth Waterston). The cast often remain onstage together, yet rarely interact until the play’s final moments. As one Nora speaks within her own time period, the others echo her words through facial expression and movement, as though the same thoughts are passing through all three women at once. It is an incredibly difficult device to sustain, and utterly mesmerising to watch. I adored all Noras, but was particularly drawn to Waterston whose facial expressions alone said so much.

The portrayal of the three Thomases (Torvald in Ibsen's original) is particularly compelling. Throughout much of the play, their casual objectification and patronising treatment of their wives is deeply uncomfortable to watch. Yet Daniel Harty (Thomas 1), Jules Bilger (Thomas 2), and Lewis Fleming (Thomas 3) resist turning the characters into simple villains. As the story reaches its climax, each actor reveals a vulnerability that complicates our judgement of them. I wanted these Noras to leave, to break free from the confines of their respective doll's houses and pursue lives beyond the expectations imposed upon them. At the same time, I felt an unexpected sympathy for the Thomases. Their behaviour is undoubtedly harmful, but their portrayals suggest they are also products of the worlds that shaped them. So conditioned by societal norms, Nora's departure feels incomprehensible to them rather than inevitable.

The adaptation introduces a queer subplot between Nora and her friend Christine. While I am often a fan of reimagining classic texts through a queer lens, this thread feels underdeveloped. It felt like an afterthought, and I'd love it to be explored more.

Nevertheless, the production prompted an abundance of teary eyes during its standing ovation and an hour-long discussion between my guest and me afterwards. I found myself reflecting on relationships that, like those in the play, were built upon forms of objectification so deeply ingrained that they went unnoticed at the time. More than 140 years after Ibsen first slammed the door on convention, Nora: A Doll's House proves that the conversation is far from over.

Nora: A Doll's House was at the Chandler Studio Theatre until 5 June

Photo: Hope Holmes

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