Ibsen’s classic tale of one man’s determination to tell the truth despite society’s attempts to silence him takes on a searing contemporary resonance in Amy Herzog’s tense, thrilling adaptation.
When Dr. Thomas Stockmann makes the shocking discovery that the water supply feeding his town’s renowned mineral baths is contaminated, he quickly sounds the alarm, assuming swift action will be taken to protect the public’s health. Instead, to his dismay, the community’s leaders rally to preserve the town’s economic lifeblood over its people, launching a campaign to not only discredit Stockmann, but to utterly destroy his reputation. Ibsen’s parable of one man’s attempt to tell a truth that society does not want to hear takes on new relevance amidst our contemporary climate of political polarization, rampant disinformation, and environmental catastrophe. As she did with her highly acclaimed modernization of A Doll’s House, playwright Amy Herzog delivers a crackling, streamlined An Enemy of the People for our time.
