‘Enemy of the People’ Revival Attempts to Make an Old Play Splash
Some of this season’s finest acting from the not-finest script.
Nearly 150 years after Ibsen’s play premiered, director Sam Gold is attempting to breathe life into “Enemy of the People,” but fails to fully revive it. Instead, our breath is taken away by the show’s actors, who steal the spotlight as the script and production fall short.
The script, revised by Amy Herzog, has gone through some significant changes, most evident in the language the characters use, which is modern vernacular with plain sentences. This modernization is seemingly the thesis of Gold’s production: “Enemy of the People” may be an old play, but its themes — mob mentality, the sway of the press, the idea of “truth,” science vs. opinion — are relevant to today. The problem is, the production nearly wacks us over the head trying to get the point across, then removes us at the most pivotal moment.
Save for the text, the first act stays mostly true to the 1800s Norway in which the play is set. Before anyone speaks, we hear Norwegian songs sung by members of the cast, while other members use matches to light up different parts of the stage. We are effectively set in this historic time and place.
It is here that we get to meet the show’s main players, all of whom are actors at the top of their game. Jeremy Strong of “Succession” plays Dr. Thomas Stockmann, a scientist who has discovered that the water of his town’s baths is contaminated. He is delightfully passionate and giddy about his discovery, and shares it with his daughter, Petra (a lovely Victoria Pedretti). Dr. Thomas is certain that everyone in town will appreciate these findings, but he’s soon opposed by the mayor and his brother, Peter Stockmann (Michael Imperioli). The mayor says he can’t believe his brother’s findings, and there’s no way they can shut down the town’s baths to fix the problem — too much money to lose, too much of the town’s economy to sacrifice. Seeing these two pros act live on stage together is one of the show’s main draws for a reason. You can’t look away from their electric rivalry. The two of them are able to hold the multitudes of their characters; Imperioli is both stable and sinister, while Strong is focused and frantic.
The show cracks open when the boundaries between “then” and “now” don’t blur, but rather are forcefully rammed together as the show stops for a “pause” — not an intermission — where audience members can get a drink at an on-stage bar. All of the house lights go up, and stay up as some audience members are invited to sit next to the actors.
A few minutes later, Dr. Thomas stands on top of the bar for his trial, cutting through the “pause” to restart the play. He is up against the entire town to try and speak his truth.
This juxtaposition of the “then” and “now” both builds up and traps this production. It is exciting to be a part of the trial scene, mostly to see the reactions of other audience members in different sections of the theater. Hearing Dr. Thomas trying to make his point against a crowd who will not listen, will not hear him out, is a communal experience. This is where the show’s big themes come to their climax: how do we easily let the opinions of others turn us against the truth? What do we define as truth? How do others sway what we want to believe?
As we see the moral battle on stage with the house lights up and audience members on stage, it’s almost as if we’re being beat over the head. Wake up! The production seems to scream. The lights are on because this is relevant to you.
Yet as any real consequences of the trial start to come to light, the production quickly zips up the connection between us and then. The house lights go down again, audience members leave the stage, and we are back into being watchers, removed from the production. We are left with an emotional performance by Strong and Perroirti, a father and daughter trying to figure out how to go on.
That’s the best part of this revival — seeing some of our cultural moment’s big actors getting to perform in an intimate, close space. Yet in not knowing where “Enemy of the People” wants to stand — firmly in the “now” or firmly in the “then” — it falters off-balance, never perfectly settling into one or the other. While this boundary-blurring should make the play feel all the more relevant, it’s instead force-fed, making the connections for us, then pulling back just as we hit the breaking point. We become just like the townspeople of the play; we’re not trusted to think for ourselves, and not culpable for our actions (or lack thereof).
Thank you for reading! If you’re interested in seeing “Enemy of the People,” it runs until June 23rd. Here’s how I ended up seeing it:
How I found out about it: All over social media, particularly in marketing that advertised Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli.
Why I went: It’s a buzzy show and I wanted to see what everyone was talking about; I also really loved “Succession” and “The White Lotus.” My dad, who came with me, went for “The Sopranos.”
How I got tickets: The boring, regular way, aka on the show’s website. These are pricer and I did do a little searching on Reddit to figure out where the best places to sit were, since it’s in the round — the consensus was that any seat is pretty good. It does feel like an intimate, close space, and the actors tend to play to all sides. There is also a lottery that you can enter daily for $39 tickets.