Henrik Ibsen was a Norwegian playwright from the 19th century who is still celebrated today not only for his writing and legendary plays but also for being an iconic figure whose influence and impact endure.
Ibsen’s plays may be from the 1900s, but they remain as relevant and popular as ever, being studied, performed and introduced to new people every day. I actually remember studying A Doll’s House myself when I was at school! There seems to be a recent surge in the popularity of Ibsen and his work lately, perhaps due to recent high-profile reimaginings including Ewan McGregor and Elizabeth Debicki in My Master Builder, and Alicia Vikander starring in Simon Stone’s The Lady from the Sea, as well as Nia DaCosta’s feature film Hedda – and that is not including the more traditional revivals!
With this new popularity, there may never be a better time than ever to explore Henrik Ibsen and his work – and doing so has never been easier thanks to BBC 4. Celebrating 120 years since the birth of this legendary figure, BBC 4’s Ibsen season is free for anyone to watch and features film adaptations of some of his most influential plays, including Juliet Stevenson in A Doll’s House, Ingrid Bergman in Hedda Gabler, Diana Rigg and Anthony Hopkins (yes, the very same man known for being Hannibal Lecter) in Little Eyolf, Janet Suzman and Ian McKellen in another Hedda Gabler, and a Scottish-set An Enemy of the People by Lindsay Galloway. The season has both adaptations and documentaries, and with such a brilliant cast across the films, it feels like a fantastic way to showcase and honour Ibsen.
Following on from this, coinciding with this BBC 4 season, David Irvin has released a new book – The Plays of Henrik Ibsen, a comprehensive discussion of all of Ibsen’s plays, from the first to last. The book takes us through Ibsen’s development as an artist, his treatment of themes like finding our own authentic voice, both politically and personally, and his ground-breaking advocacy of women’s rights – all things that all of us can relate to in one way or another.
Don’t be intimidated – the book is written in a clear, non-academic prose, so one does not need any prior knowledge to read it. Described as a must-read for those who want to know more about someone who is frequently called the world’s greatest playwright (after Shakespeare, of course!).
I got the amazing opportunity to interview David Irvin and ask him to tell me a bit more about his new book, why he thinks Ibsen is rising in popularity again now, and why people who have never read or watched Ibsen before may be pleasantly surprised. I found this to be such an insightful and poignant interview, and I hope you enjoy reading David Irvin’s answers as much as I did!
Note: the answers to my questions have not been altered in any way. All answers here are exactly as they were sent to me.
Starting simple, can you tell me who you are and a little bit about yourself?
I’m David Irvin. I’ve retired from teaching English in Thanet Grammar Schools, tutoring for the Open University and lecturing in Adult Education. I’m a qualified counsellor and author of four other books, including Shakespeare for All and The Essence of Tragedy.
I have loved the theatre ever since, aged 7, I went with my parents to an evening outdoor production of Rogers and Hammerstein’s Carousel.
I’m fascinated by the way Ibsen writes about freedom, about compromise, betrayal, temptation, deception and self-deception – his exploration of the life-lie, the story we tell ourselves about ourselves to justify ourselves.
You have a new book that came out on the 28th March – The Plays of Henrik Ibsen -what was the inspiration behind you writing this book? And what made you want to write and share this book now?
I have always loved Ibsen since my University days. I’ve written about Shakespeare, and to me, Ibsen comes second only to Shakespeare. “I love, therefore I write.”
Have you got one play of Ibsen’s in particular that is your favourite, and why?
There are so many plays that from time to time I have favoured. At the moment it is Little Eyolf, because of the searing honesty of the dialogue between Rita and Alfred in Acts 2 and each saying what they want from a relationship.
Rita wants passion and total commitment. Alfred sees this as too “earthbound” and is attracted by the peace and quiet of the mountains where he has enjoyed the presence of death.
You really get inside the mind and souls of those two main characters, married but craving such different things.
When was it you found your own interest in Ibsen and his writing, and has that influenced you and/or your own work in any way?
I saw a production of A Doll’s House in my late teens and that began it all. But it was at university, under the influence of F L Lucas, that I fully responded to Ibsen. Lucas was writing a book on Ibsen and Strindberg and we undergraduates benefited from his sharing his research.
I hope I also learned from Lucas’s style – scholarly without being academic, and being unafraid to give personal responses and opinions that might take the reader outside the text being discussed.
Your new book release coincides with the BBC 4 Ibsen season, showing various film adaptations of some of his most famous plays, starring the likes of Ewan McGregor… Is there one adaptation in particular you really enjoy and would recommend?
I would, without hesitation, recommend Hedda Gabler, with Janet Suzman as Hedda. She is marvellous – but it may take a while to get over the strangeness of Ian McKellen’s hairstyle!
Leading on from that, why do you think Ibsen’s work is gaining a lot of new interest now?
For me, Ibsen is of interest not just now but for all time. Today we have the problem of water pollution – an issue which is at the centre of An Enemy of the People. Corrupt banking practice is central to John Gabriel Borkman. And above all there is the matter of feminism and female emancipation, the need for self-discovery and then to find the appropriate path on which to journey.
Your book – The Plays of Henrik Ibsen – is not just a discussion of his writing, but also Ibsen’s development as both a person and writer; in the process of writing the book, have you discovered anything you didn’t know before about Ibsen or his work? And what is the most interesting or surprising thing you came across when putting this book together?
I don’t see my book as biographical. For an outstanding biography of Ibsen you must read Michael Myers’s. I have linked the plays with his life, but the plays are fundamentally what matter. But I discovered that, aged 16, he fathered an illegitimate child, and that aged 25 he was in love with a 15-year-old girl.
But Ibsen, ever the coward as he admitted himself, backed off when threatened by the girl’s father.
Also he read newspapers rather than books.
Within your book, there are explorations of the difficulty of finding our own authentic voices; how did you find your own authentic voice? What would you say or advise to others experiencing this difficulty?
A very good question – which, of course, means I’m not sure what the answer is!
I’ve done a lot of talking/teaching about books over the years and don’t think I’ve ever attempted to bullshit my way along. I’ve tried to be honest and human in my responses to books, but I wasn’t confident enough to start writing until I was in my sixties, by which time I think my natural style had developed and become embedded. I think we all have different ways of finding our voice – I wouldn’t presume to give advice.
What is it about Henrik Ibsen that you think has made him such a prominent figure and writer? Why do you think his writing has stood the test of time and kept him so popular to this day?
He is a compassionate realist. In all Ibsen’s plays, be they political or personal, he is ultimately on the side of the liberal and the need to break free from conventional establishment restrictions. But he presents fairly both sides of any issue. So much so that in his early play The League of Youth both the conservatives and the liberals were angry at his portrayal of them! Ibsen – pre-Freud – understands people and their dilemmas. That is why he is so popular. And, I should add, there is a good deal of humour, largely kindly and character-based, in his plays.
There are probably people out there who have never heard of Henrik Ibsen, or if they have, will never have read his writing…what would you say to convince them to pick up his work?
In Ibsen’s plays you meet unforgettable characters – Hedda Gabler, Master Builder Solness. Helen Alving, Doctor Stockmann, Rebekka West, Ella Rentheim for example. You are involved with them and their life issues, which resemble closely the issues which all of us face whatever century we live in. Issues of freedom, of compromise, of responsibility, of relationships, of betrayal, of temptation, of fulfilment, of deception and self-deception.
One last question from me…what would you like people to take away from your book?
I would like all my readers to feel that they now want to go to the theatre or read a play by Ibsen, either as a new or renewed experience.
And there we have it! A brilliant discussion on a legendary writer, his longstanding influence and how times may change, but certain things never lose their meaning or relevance. I absolutely loved having this opportunity to interview David Irvin; it is clear he is someone who not only cares for his own writing, but the excellence of Ibsen as both a writer and a person. I, for one, will absolutely be reading his new book, The Plays of Henrik Ibsen and tuning into the BBC4 Ibsen season.
If you, too, would like to get yourself a copy of David Irvin’s book, you can do so here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-plays-of-henrik-ibsen/david-irvin/9781806341610
You can find out more about the BBC4 Ibsen season here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002q7my
One Show at a Time 