If there was ever a moment in your life when you looked back and wondered what would have happened if you had done things differently at that one particular moment in time?
You may find an answer when you go to see Western Gold Theatre’s gripping production of “A Doll’s House, Part 2.”
Playwright Lucas Hnath continues the story of Nora Helmer, who suddenly returns home after a 15-year absence, leaving behind her husband, daughter and nanny. What Nora finds is a family quite different from what she had imagined. Set in the intimate Pacific Theatre stage, this engrossing play features some of Vancouver’s most incredible theatrical talent. Melissa Oei is Nora; Tom McBeath is the shunned husband Torvald; Tanja Dixon-Warren is Anne-Marie, the nanny who raised Nora; and Tebo Nzeko as Nora’s daughter Emmy. Director Seamus Fera makes the most of the nuanced play, leaving the audience sitting on the edge of their seats with the hope that everything will turn out alright for the family.
The intense drama that was Henrik Ibsen’s play about the Helmer family is definitely evident in this newly envisioned play, and the actors are spot on in each difficult, demanding scene. This is a co-production with Pacific Theatre and it is, this writer hopes, the beginning of other collaborations with the many other theatre companies across the Lower Mainland. Given the expense involved in producing even the most simple production, this may be a way to keep theatre truly alive in our city.
“A Doll’s House, Part 2,” continues at the Pacific Theatre, 1440 West 12th Avenue until February 23.
Tickets: https://pacifictheatre.org/show/a-dolls-house-part-ii/#tickets