CELEBRATION
Influential Ibsen
RANDOR GUY
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Even 100 years after his death, Ibsen's plays continue to be relevant to modern society.
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Still inspirational: Ibsen at the turn of the last century. Photo: AP
HENRIK IBSEN (1828-1906), the Norwegian playwright, ranks almost close to William Shakespeare in the history of theatre, though he wrote in Norwegian and his works are available to the rest of the world only in translation. Even though he died 100 years ago, he is as popular as ever. His plays are performed on stages around the world every week, and his characters and drama inspire playwrights to generate new plays and stories.
Celebrations galore
Norway has declared 2006 as "Ibsen Year" and celebrations have already begun in many parts of the world, involving seminars, workshops, play reading and also staging plays. The Norwegian State Bank is bringing out a Special Ibsen Commemoration 20-Kroner coin. Special awards are to be bestowed on famous actresses like Liv Ullmann, Glenda Jackson and Claire Bloom who have contributed to the Ibsen magic by their enriching roles in his plays.
Not surprisingly, his plays have been filmed in more than one language and also by Hollywood and in England. Not many are aware that his play "Peer Gynt" was made as a silent movie in 1915 with the dialogue being conveyed through "inter-title cards"! The movie attracted considerable attention because of the playwright.
Ibsen's most famous play "A Doll's House" was filmed twice in 1973 in England. In one version, Claire Bloom and Anthony Hopkins played the lead roles while in the other Jane Fonda was Nora.
Another famous play filmed was "Enemy of the People" (1977) with Steve McQueen. Satyajit Ray's 1989 Indian version in 1989 "Ghanashatru" had Soumitra Chatterjee and Dhrithiman Chatterjee in major roles.
Few people know that the Ibsen play "The Pillars of Society" was made in Telugu by well-known filmmaker K.V. Reddi as "Pedda Manushulu" (Big Shots). It came to be hailed as a Telugu movie classic for its brilliant satire on the hypocritical society.
As noted writer Ashokamithran says, "Every Indian writer whether he wrote plays or not was certainly influenced by Ibsen." The well-known Indian playwright Indra Parthasarathy says, "The three plays that impressed me most were `The Pillars of Society', `Doll's House' and `Hedda Gabler'. The hypocrisy of the rich as portrayed in `The Pillars of Society' may have its undercurrents in my play, `Porvai Porthiya Udalgal'. The 'Doll's House' is the first feminist play as well as dealing with the theme of illusion and realty in the social sphere... . The neurotic trait of `Hedda Gabler' may have reflections in the heroine of `Mazhai' who suffers from the Electra complex."
"Doll's House" was written, directed and produced as TV play for Madras Doordharshan Kendra in Tamil as "Bommai Veedu" by producer S. Gopalie.
Why does Ibsen continue to be popular? His "Doll's House" with its theme of female emancipation anticipated the feminism movement by several decades. Nora is the first champion of female liberty and a role model for the movement.
Breakthrough in theatre
The psychological realism he brought to the stage is considered a breakthrough in modern theatre. Ibsen has been popular in some periods for his portrayal of women struggling with their independence, but he is also interpreted as a great humanist who sought liberation for both sexes.
Henrik Ibsen was born March 20, 1828 in Skien, Norway. His father, a merchant, went bankrupt in 1835, and the family was forced to relocate to a farm near the town of Gjerpen. As teenager Ibsen became an apprentice in a pharmacy. In 1849, he wrote his first play, "Catline", publishing it under the pseudonym Brynjolf Bjarme. The response was almost none!
In 1850, he settled down in Oslo, where the first play under his own name, "The Burial Mound", was staged in the same year. Soon he moved to Bergen where he began directing productions. His plays too met with a good following and he could live by his writing.
His plays are critical of society, exposing hypocrisy and male manipulation. His other famous plays include "Brand", "Peer Gynt", "Ghosts", "The Wild Duck", and "The Master Builder". He suffered a stroke in 1900 and died in 1906. He was 78. The man may be gone but his plays will always be immortal.
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