CityLife

A Doll's House

A Doll’s House
Library Theatre at The Lowry
February 25, 2011

Freed from the confines of their former basement home, the Library Theatre continues to demonstrate a new lease of life.

Perhaps it’s simply the larger stage giving everyone more room to display their talents. Whatever it is, I like it.

Artistic director Chris Honer is in charge of Ibsen’s revolutionary 19th century masterpiece of middle-class rights and relationships and he has assembled a very strong cast, led by Chester-born Emma Cunniffe (The Lakes, Clocking Off, Flesh and Blood, etc) as Nora, the kittenish wife of domineering bank director Torvald.

The gradual unravelling of their marriage reaches crunch point when spendthrift but surprisingly moral Nora has to beg her domineering husband not to take a certain course of action.

Her total reliance on him becomes all too clear and it is at this crucial point that Cunniffe kicks into another gear and works the magic of transformation.

As Nora becomes frustrated, blackmailed by a money lender, finally facing the facts of her life and realising she has to find her own independence, the finely nuanced performance develops with complete conviction when the mouse roars.

Ken Bradshaw’s hard-nosed lawyer husband – arrogant, self-satisfied, self-centred, quick to judge – is impressive, his facade crumbling when he learns of Nora’s guilty secret.

There’s excellent support from Paul Barnhill as the blackmailer and Sarah Ball as loyal friend Christine.

Bryony Lavery’s robust, very direct, conversational translation, gives the text a very sharp edge, further honed by Honer. Another Library success. 
 
Until March 12.

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