“A woman walks out of her home and she just…”

Union House Theatre (UHT) returns to campus this week with Stef Smith’s Nora: A Doll’s House, a radical retelling of Henrik Ibsen’s classic A Doll’s House, and a crucial and relevant tale about women’s rights throughout the last century.

The production, directed by Xanthe Beesley and Liv Satchell and featuring a cast of University of Melbourne students, reframes Ibsen’s work in three different time periods: the fight for women’s suffrage, the Swinging Sixties, and the modern day to ask, ‘how far have we really come in the past hundred years?’.

“The original A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen shone a spotlight on the conditions that would force a woman to leave her home and family,” said Satchell.

“Stef Smith’s adaptation shows us just how little has changed in the fight for women's rights.

This play has become only more relevant since it was first written, and an amazing team of students and creatives have come together to bring this production to life.”

“I think we all know a Nora, and we all know a Christine, and the fact that this treatment of women is still happening after so many decades and centuries… it is important to keep telling these stories,” added Costume Designer Natalie Gillis, who has previously worked on IDA (2018) and The Lonely Crowd (2019) at Union House Theatre.

“It’s told in such a poignant and beautiful way, both through the direction and design.”

This season also marks the final time that UHT will stage a production in the Union Theatre in Union House. UHT will transition their activities to the Arts and Cultural Building in the Student Precinct at Parkville Campus in mid-2022, after 84 years in Union House.

“Student theatre is experiencing an exciting renewal,” said Beesley.

“Our communities are back on campus and as eager as ever to explore live performance ... With all this energy, the time is perfect for UHT to relocate to our new facilities.”

Nora: A Doll’s House is showing this week at Union Theatre 26-30 April.

Tickets are $10-25. Book them now here.

Show Details:
26-30 April, 2022
Union Theatre, Building 130
University of Melbourne, Parkville Campus

Tickets: $10 - $25
Bookings: online via umsu.unimelb.edu.au/nora
Enquiries: 8344 6975 or email uht@union.unimelb.edu.au or umsu.unimelb.edu.au/theatre/
Audio Described Performance - Friday 29 April 7:30pm
Relaxed Performance - Saturday 30 April 2:30pm

Creative Team:
Written by Stef Smith, after Henrik Ibsen
Directors: Xanthe Beesley and Liv Satchell
Set Designer - Claudia Mirabello
Costume Designer - Natalie Gillis
Lighting Designer - Giovanna Yate González
Sound Designer - Connor Ross

Image provided by UHT.