A Doll's House Site Specific Space Analysis

In this rational I will discuss how meaning is made in performance in relation to the site specific space. I will deconstruct some of the underlying themes presented in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House in order to examine the ways in which they correspond with the chosen performance space. I will demonstrate how the context of the play and my chosen space interconnect with each other and how site specific space can further help me to explore the motives and themes that appear throughout the play and how they are able to generate meaning. A Doll’s House is a late 19th century play by Henrik Ibsen, the play is set around the main protagonist Nora Helmer a wife to Torvald and mother to three children. The controversy of the play is centred around Nora 's decision to abandon her children in search for her own freedom. The major conflict that arises in the plays is Nora’s struggle with the character Krogstad who threatens to tell her husband about her past crime, which then leads Nora on a journey of self discovery which provides the dramatic suspense of the play. Nora’s primary struggle, however, …show more content…
As the play I am using is a 19th century piece, my aim was for the audience to be transported into this seemingly perfect doll house setting as if it were a 19th century time capsule. ‘’Theatre is not simply a place you go to but a place you go through.’’ (Howard. 2009, p.81). The space I have chosen to perform A Doll’s House is The Keynes Library, 43 Gordon Square located in Bloomsbury. This site has a doll house like quality through its victorian architectural design. The location itself is adorned with a rich heritage that I find to be fitting with the nature and popularity of this iconic play. ‘’Describing place is the ‘location’ of the form of site specific performance as a discrete discipline with its own