"A Doll's House, Part 2"

September 3, 2019 — Playwright Lucas Hnath wondered what might have become of Nora Helmer after she walked out and slammed the door on her husband and three children in Heinrich Ibsen's famous play, "A Doll's House." That door-slam is the last sound heard in the play, and its finality is devastating.

Hnath decided to write his own version of Nora's life after her departure and titled it "A Doll's House, Part 2." The Peterborough Players in Peterborough, New Hampshire, presented Hnath's version, directed by Keith Stevens with a beautifully-designed set by Emmy Boisvert, sumptuous period costumes by Bethany Mullins, and the Players' usual fine acting talent.

Fifteen years after walking out, Nora (Lisa Bostnar) returns to the home of her husband, Torvald Helmer (Players artistic director Gus Kaikkonen), and is greeted by the same maid, Anne-Marie (Carolyn Michel), who was there when Nora suddenly departed and was left with the task of bringing up Nora's three children. Their meeting is awkward but cordial, although cautious, at first, but finally descends into angry recrimination. And then, Torvald, who wasn't expected home for another day, shows up unexpectedly.

Why has Nora returned? She has become a successful and wealthy published author and life has been good to her. Is there something she needs from her former family? Answers to these questions are gradually revealed over the course of the four-act play, each act centering on one of the four characters. I haven't mentioned the fourth yet. That was Emmy (Katie Shults), Nora and Torvald's daughter, a child when Nora left, now grown into lovely womanhood and engaged to be married.

There is a problem threatening Nora's future and she does need help from her abandoned family. Will Torvald and Emmy oblige? Torvald, devastated and humiliated at the time of Nora's departure, is finding it hard to sympathize. Nora is a stranger to Emmy who barely remembers her and feels no kinship.

The encounters between the actors are realistic and believable, sometimes angry, often poignant, occasionally humorous. The acting is superb. Another example of quality theater by the Peterborough Players.