Henrik Ibsen’s PEER GYNT in a new version

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This version of Peer Gynt is one of many adaptations of Ibsen’s original “dramatic poem” into a stage presentation of the archetypal journey, spread over a lifetime, of a man in search of himself. Ibsen was the first to transform his lesedrama into a theatre piece (by omitting one entire act and commissioning a musical score from Grieg to cover the gaps). There have since been numerous modern innovations of Peer Gynt, each with its own emphasis. This current version attempts to reconcile Ibsen’s Norwegian concerns and mythology with a series of Canadian references, and the challenges facing the translator/adaptor and his solutions are recorded in the introduction to the play. It has been staged in Canada and Norway (the last act only) and won Vancouver’s Jessie Award for the best production of 2006.