El desarrollo de la civilización venidera is an Argentinian production of Henrik Ibsen‘s A Doll’s House. It was modernised and directed by Daniel Veronese and stars María Figueras, Carlos Portaluppi, Mara Bestelli, Ana Garibaldi and Roly Serrano. It was also the last play I saw during the Festwochen. [Reviews of the other things here.]

Plot:
Helmer (Carlos Portaluppi) and Nora (María Figueras) are a happily married couple. At least on the surface. When they return home laughing and discussing from having watched Scenes from a Marriage, everything seems to be alright. But soon the facade crumbles and reveals the real workings behind their relationship.

El desarrollo was an interesting production. It was excellently acted, though Helmer was not that well cast and the modernisation was very well done. Unfortunately, Veronese also changed the ending, which I didn’t like as much.

The addition of Scenes from a Marriage worked very well for me. It fit the general tone of the play and it nicely displayed the relationship dynamic between Nora and Helmer. Also, it made Daniel Veronese about double the text of the play, but since we saw a Latin-American production, it was still done after 1 hour 2o minutes. Man, those people talk fast. [My sister was with me and she speaks Spanish really well, having lived in Panama and Spain for 2 years altogether. But even she was glad that there were subtitles…]

The casting was a mixed bag of beans. That they cast a woman to play Doctor Rank worked brilliantly and also Christine was very well cast. Nora as played by María Figueras was a rather annoying incarnation though (Nora has definite tendencies in that direction but you can emphasise them). But Carlos Portaluppi just didn’t fit my mental image of Helmer. He was neither imposing, nor stately and those are the two characteristics that define Helmer for me. Which is not to say that he didn’t act well.

The stage design was pretty minimalistic and very ugly. For some reason, it didn’t matter much, but that yellow? Made my eyes sore.

My biggest issue with the play, though, was the changed ending. [SPOILERS] In the original, Nora gets up and leaves Helmer after discussing with him her reasons for leaving. He tries to persuade her to stay but ultimately accepts her decision. In this incarnation, Helmer starts beating Nora and then the play ends with him laying the keys on the table (he had locked her in). When she grabs for them, he puts his hand on hers and the play ends. [/SPOILER] My problems with this: a) all the shades of gray in Helmer’s character are lost. He definitely crosses the line from abusive-but-doesn’t-get-it to willful abuser. b) it’s not clear whether Nora is actually able to leave. And c) the gesture has something reconcilliatory. And that shit don’t fly.

Summarising: I don’t regret seeing it, though I am happy that the tickets were cheap.