“Coercive control is now a criminal offence but obviously in the Victorian age certain behaviours were still acceptable,” Oxford Theatre Guild director Layla Katib explains.
Currently in the middle of rehearsals for OTG’s revival of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, she is delighted to be bringing the classic drama to the OFS stage later this month.
‘A Doll’s House is about marriage, friendship and family, mixed in with lots of lighter moments, surprises and a lot of depth. It’s really fast paced’
Hugely controversial when it premiered in 1879 due to its feminist stance, A Doll’s House depicts married couple Nora and Torvald Helmer, and delves into their marriage, from which Nora feels unable to escape.
When revisiting the script Layla immediately picked up on the patterns of coercive behaviour within and knew they would resonate with a modern-day audience.
“A Doll’s House has so many universal themes and complex characters. It’s about marriage, friendship and family, mixed in with lots of lighter moments, numerous surprises and a lot of depth. It’s really fast paced,” she says, “but it’s also about coercive control and I wanted to explore that.
‘a lot of people are still victims of coercive control today and it’s surprising how many parallels there are within Ibsen’s meaty text with what’s happening now’
“Because a lot of people are still victims of coercive control today and it’s surprising how many parallels there are within Ibsen’s meaty text with what’s happening now, so The Doll’s House is still really relevant.
“But I don’t want it to be just about goodies and baddies, or villains and heroes, but more about the complex characters who have their own flaws interwoven through the stories.”
So why did Layla think A Doll’s House would work so well in Oxford? “It is such a well structured play with characters that are not always what they seem, so I wanted to look at their motives to find out why they acted the way they did, the effects of coercive behaviour on the victims, and how that manifests itself,” Layla explains.
‘Even though A Doll’s House is really well known, it hasn’t been shown in Oxford for some time, so now’s your chance to come and see it’
“We also wanted to examine the characters mental health, because it’s not all black and white – it’s more complicated than that, because there is also evident love between Nora and Torvald, and that’s also important.”
Having fallen in love with A Doll’s House when at university, Layla therefore seized the chance to stage it when OTG were scouting for their autumn show, and knew that now was the time to get her favourite play aired in Oxford.
“It seemed perfect for the OFS stage because we could set A Doll’s House in a room with walls so that the audience can look straight in, and will be right up close, complete with period costumes and furniture, so it lends itself really well to the venue,” she says.
‘It’s all been very satisfying watching it come to life’
Having taken part in OTG‘s recent directing course, and worked as an assistant director on OTG’s The Importance Of Being Earnest, Layla decided to pitch for the autumn show at OFS.
“I really enjoy directing and wanted to work on my own show. Luckily OTG liked my ideas, so here we are,” she beams.
60 people auditioned for the play, Layla adding that she “had a real wealth of talent to choose from” and rehearsals are now underway ready for opening night on October 21.
“I am really enjoying seeing it all come together, and being involved in every process, from picking the cast to the costumes and music. It’s all been very satisfying watching it come to life and I’ve really enjoyed it” she says.
‘we are confidant that it’s as relevant today as it was for the Victorians’
And how does she think Oxford will receive it? “Even though A Doll’s House is really well known, it hasn’t been shown in Oxford for some time, so now’s your chance to come and see it. It’s such a classic drama with so many universal themes that everyone can relate to it – we are confidant that it’s as relevant today as it was for the Victorians.
A Doll’s House runs at OFS from 21 – 26 October. Book at https://oldfirestation.org.uk/whats-on/a-dolls-house/
