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CAT presents Ibsen's The Lady from the Sea

Premiere at National Theatre Stage

Nadia Sarwat
Centre for Asian Theatre (CAT) premiered their latest production, an Ibsen classic addressing the constrained social position of women and the significance of an individual's freedom. A successor of Ibsen's "The Doll's House (1879), "The Lady From the Sea"(1888) hits the same issues but through a more symbolic and psychological foreground.
Ingrid Turkerud Haug, first secretary of Royal Norwegian Embassy, Dhaka inaugurated the premiere at tire National Theatre Stage, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on December 3. For the CAT production, the play has been adapted by Ragnhild Maeril and Un-Magritt Nordesth. Khairul Alam Shabuj has translated the play in Bengali. Norwegian director and ballet artiste Un-Magritt Nordesth has directed the play.
The story follows Ellida, the wistful daughter of a lighthouse-keeper who marries a widower, Dr. Wangel. Growing up by the sea, Ellida is obsessed with it as it lures her to the unknown. Her ex-lover personified the sea. Ellida feels that she betrayed him by marrying Dr. Wangel. She is pulled into dreams about him and becomes isolated from her reality - her husband and two daughters. One. day, the
irresistible urge to go with him and familial responsibilities. She realises what she actually wants ones she gets the
opportunity to decide everything on her own.
In the director's note, Nordseth says, "In my opin-
ion, 'The Lady from The Sea' is one of the most powerful and beautiful plays by Ibsen. Beautiful because it's con-
cerned with the human urges through the use of metaphors: powerful because the text deals with the idea of personal
freedom. What does it mean to exercise one's freewill? What does it takes to destroy the vows of a marriage?’
Sabina Sultana played Ellida, while Shahadat Hossain donned the role of Dr. Wangel and Md. Rafi played Ellida’s ex-lover. The cast also included Shipra Das, Abul Kalam Azad, Ratna Akhterand others. The set designed by Yngvar Julin was quite successful in attaining the symbolic aspect of the play; Erik Spets Sandvik's light design complemented the set. Glimpses from the past and several emotional states of the characters were presented through ballet, an additional attraction of the production.
"The Lady from the Sea" will be premiered internationally at the Ibsen Festival 2008 -- to be held in New Delhi this month. Members of CAT will leave for the festival on December?.