A Doll's House Lighting

It is important for the lighting designer to thoroughly think through the arrangement of light on stage and the quality of it in order to help convey a more accurate feeling to the audience. In Hendrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, light is a very important part of the play since not only is it a necessity to have, but also it is a symbolic representation of truth and awareness.

I believe the majority of the play’s light should come from the sky, stove, and candles so that the scenes of illumination are more striking. During the scene after the Tarantella, Helmer and Nora return to the room and find Mrs. Linde there. Helmer immediately goes to light some candles since the room is all dark. This symbolic act of lighting the candles should create a big change in the atmosphere. For that reason, I have chosen to put a cluster of candlesticks around the room so that, when lit, they may have a more dramatic approach. Mrs. Linde originally has a lamp that helps make Mrs. Linde and Krogstad visible to the audience. However the lamp would not be too bright so it could symbolize Nora’s lack of awareness of what arrangement has been made. There will be no light coming in from the window as they are in Norway during the winter and are victims to grey clouds and long winter nights. During the other parts of the play, there will be a soft orange light coming from the windows and the presence of grey clouds would be prominent. The majority of the lighting would come from electric candles that look like ones typical of the mid-1800s or the warm glow emitted from the door of the stove. After the scene of Krogstad’s first visit to Nora is the only scene that candles on the tree should be lit. This giant illumination is important since it is not until this part that she realizes the severity of her crime.

By using light in a careful manner, the lighting designer would make it easier to show the important events of the play with the use of illumination. Using mostly light elements...