Playwrights on Ibsen

Richard Eyre, Simon Stephens, Stephen Unwin and Patrick Marber comment on their experience of writing new versions of Ibsen's plays for contemporary audiences.

[@hanaplaysandparasols5670]

Thanks for that tiny glimpse into what the literal translation might look like. As someone who only translates from a language they speak, I find this British practice of versions fascinating!

[@hakonsoreide]

"Ibsen is rich in violence and sexuality" is spot on. Basically that sums up all his major plays, but of course within that there is a lot of subtle nuance that needs to be expressed, especially for plays written at a time when neither violence or sexuality were explicitly shown on stage and many aspects of it had to be hinted at, yet in a way that made the audience understand exactly what was being referred to. Hedda Gabler's not so subtle but at the same time also easily missed reference to anal sex was something I didn't expect first time I saw it, for example, arriving, as it did, via a complex metaphor involving the talk of a gun and someone entering the house via the back door. I have been curious sometimes how it translates (or adapts), only being familiar with the original text myself, so I might watch an English-language production some day, though I've been a bit pensive about it for fear of disappointment at finding many of the nuances lost in translation. It certainly sounds risky working from a literal translation with a dictionary. You'd think finding someone who speaks both English and Norwegian to a high level might be a safer bet, certainly as a collaborator on an adaptation. There are loads of those.

[@maddybarnes2793]

Interesting video- just a shame that its only middle aged white men talking about it. There seems to be a lack of representation at the NT.

[@maia_gaia]

I've noticed this in past videos as well. it's a reflection of the industry as a whole, though. Few women are being hired in positions on the production side of things. Hopefully that starts to change.

[@James-jo1vv]

Why study Ibsen if you think it intolerable that middle-aged white men (who was all of those things) are overrepresented? Perhaps because he wrote better than most (strong female characters too), regardless of his melatonin levels and the morphology of his genitalia? And if he didn't write better, then surely you'd be better off watching Zulu theatre instead.

[@HeikiRiipinen]

@@James-jo1vv Well that is the thing about representation isnt it? The problem isnt that Ibsen is a middle-aged white man, but that everyone else is too. Its the totality.

[@NostalgiNorden]

Just a shame that there are too many whining SJWs in these comment-sections.