The School of Drama invites you to experience A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen in a thrilling adaptation written by Amy Herzog (Drama Desk - Outstanding Adaptation). Nominated for six Tony Awards in 2023 including Best Revival of a Play, this production is helmed by guest director Elissa Goetschius (Actors Theatre of Charlotte and LAByrinth Theatre Company Intensive Ensemble).

Performance Details

Thursday, October 22, 2026, 7:30 PM
Friday, October 23, 2026, 7:30 PM
Saturday, October 24, 2026, 2:00 PM
Saturday, October 24, 2026, 7:30 PM

Synopsis

Amy Herzog’s A Doll’s House follows Nora Helmer, a woman who secretly borrows money to save her husband Torvald’s life. When her secret is threatened with exposure, Torvald’s reaction reveals that he values his reputation more than Nora’s sacrifice. Nora realizes that she has been treated as a “doll” rather than an equal partner. She therefore decides to leave her marriage and family to discover her identity, independence, and freedom.

From the Director

"It is entirely possible to do a traditional production of the play using this translation, or to find other points on the spectrum between modern dress on an empty stage and a fully realized, period mise-en-scene. I would love to see a range of interpretations in future productions.” Amy Herzog

When I first read Amy’s version of A Doll’s House, I was surprised at how modern the text felt. Not just the language she chose, but the tempo of the production. A lot of this can be attributed to her decision to cut the role of the housekeeper and instead, incorporate a contemporary aesthetic device of having a “shift” occur, a brief jump in time, that brings new characters onstage with a jarring suddenness. From where I stood as a director, this one choice moved us away from realism and opened the door to an exaggerated world where the ground is slipping beneath Nora’s feet and the house itself is conspiring to make her stay put, a doll in a beautiful domestic tableau.

I began conversations with designers, taking inspiration from Do Ho Suh’s delicate but looming fabric installation Home Within Home Within Home Within Home Within Home, Patty Carroll’s photography series Anonymous Women: Demise, and the surrealist paintings of Remedios Varo. The production you will see departs from realism in order to explore the sensation of feeling trapped by the choices you’ve made in life, smothered by societal expectations, and disoriented upon realizing that the world around you doesn’t play by the rules you thought it did.