The Sumner
August 21, 2018

This Broadway hit asks the tantalising question: “What happened after Nora walked out on her family in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House?” Described as ‘a sequel-of-sorts’, Lucas Hnath’s A Doll’s House, Part 2 picks up the story 15 years later, further exploring ideas about feminism, marriage, individuality, responsibility and morality that shocked late 19th century audiences.

Greg Stone and Marta Dusseldorp. Photo © Jeff Busby 

Fiercely tackled by this new play’s four characters, these conflicting ideas provoke questions about how far we’ve come in the early 21st century, and also generate narrative tension. Fundamentally, however, it’s a play short on subtlety and complexity, which suggests its success is at least partly based on audiences’ enduring fascination with Ibsen’s groundbreaking original.

Marta Dusseldorp and Greg Stone. Photo © Jeff Busby 

Hnath’s Nora returns through the door she boldly walked out of 15 years before, having never made contact in the interim. She has prospered as an author of feminist novels and, believing that her husband, Torvald, filed for divorce, has conducted her life, from relationships to legal contracts, as a single woman. The revelation...