Henrik Ibsen's multi-layered theatre slips easily into the Indian context and languages.
More than 100 years after the 18th-century playwright Henrik Ibsen questioned freedom of will and revealed an intrinsic understanding of women, theatre artists from India and Norway are working to slip his multi-layered character play into contemporary forms. The ongoing Delhi Ibsen festival by the Dramatic Art and Design Academy approaches issues such as industrialisation and liberty in keeping with cultural and regional identities.
Contemporary directors have improvised to bring in influences that are distinctive, often making the drama more Asian than its Norwegian origins. Norwegian choreographer and director Un-Magritt Nordseth, who directs Lady from the Sea in Bengali, took easily to this project particularly because she wanted to work on Ibsen’s work in an Asian theatrical environment.
Built on human longing and an individual’s free will, this play sees expression more in movements than dialogue, as is typical in the writing of Ibsen. Working with a translator and actors from Bangladesh, Nordseth found little difficulty in working in a language that she does not speak. “Norwegian plays have a lot of dialogue. I have improvised movements that express emotions, choreography stepping in as the subtext,” she says.
National School of Drama director Anuradha Kapur finds Ibsen’s resonance striking in contemporary society, as she brings to stage John Gabriel Borkman in Hindi/English. “The topical nature of the play is what puts it in context. It isn’t a straight adaptation. It deals with the problem of industrialisation. We have set it in contemporary India but not gone so far as to change names of the characters. Borkman is a curious play, because, towards the third act, one is forced to rethink the naturalist form that he adopted earlier,” says Kapur. Director Ratan Thiyam, meanwhile, interprets Ibsen’s When We Dead Awaken in Manipuri, making it more symbolic and stylised.
Little Eyolfe sees a slight realignment from its Christian background, as Neelam Mansingh, who directs plays in Punjabi, indulges in imagery that makes it more regional. “The complexity of Ibsen’s characters goes beyond notions of a culture and so they can be identified in a different language or geographical location. But I have not included the Christianity aspect, which is a big part of Scandinavian culture. Directing it in Punjabi brings in imagery and sounds unique to our culture,” she explains.
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Ibsen’s enhanced insight into women, noteworthy and admirable for his time, has for long been one of the highlights of his work. Norwegian actor and director Juni Dahr creates a production based on six female leads from Ibsen’s plays: Nora and Hedda from A Doll’s House, Ellida from Lady from the Sea, to name a few, exploring each of their journeys towards independence.
Says Nordseth, of her play Lady from the Sea, “His female characters are so strong, complex and unhappy... For an actor it’s wonderful to play one of them. The characters are so deep and nuanced. There is little Asian influence in Norwegian theatre, which is why I look forward to working in Asia.”
The Ibsen festival is on at Kamani Auditorium, L T Auditorium and Chinmaya Centre in Delhi, till December 18