Drama Drama Drama (Cultural Activity 1)

The Théatre de Madeliene staged a production of Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll's House (or rather, Maison de Poupée, as it was performed en français), starring none other than Audrey Tautou as Nora. The theatre itself was kind of fun, a sort of art deco blast from the past. We were escorted to our seats by a woman wearing a sort of kimono, adding to the art deco ambience. Red velvet seats and gold trim promised a fun evening.

Now I’m going to indulge in some celebrity fandom: as much as I was looking forward to the play itself, 90% of the reason I bought a ticket was to see Audrey Tautou. Her performance was not disappointing; as the curtain came up she was alone on the stage, standing stock still with a ghostly expression that set the film noir mood for the rest of the play. At the beginning (after the dramatic entrance that is) she bubbled with energy, squealing and jumping up and down like a child. We watched her transform through each scene into a stronger, independent woman while her husband stubbornly kept treating her as a doll. Audrey is so captivating that she just about stole the show, and I was able to understand the character even though she spoke so quickly I understood little of her dialogue.



It was a pleasure to see what a professional theatre company can do with costumes and set . Nora’s costumes in particular were significant. She started out in a blue dress with black trim that seemed to bind her head to toe. Her costume for the fancy dress party was the same as the small doll her husband was playing with. When she finally leaves her husband, she is dressed in a simple petticoat and shift, free from the frills and constraints of her life with Torvald. As the play progressed the set became smaller and smaller, trapping the characters in a claustrophobically miniature (might I say doll-sized?) world. At last the walls seem to collapse around Torvald and he was left in the shambles of his illusory maison de poupée. What is the greatest miracle of all?