Open to Public
An Enemy of the People
Adapted, directed, and facilitated by Bryan Doerries
An Enemy of the People presents acclaimed actors, journalists, public health leaders, scientists, climate activists, elected officials, and local community members performing dramatic readings of scenes from Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 play An Enemy of the People as a catalyst for powerful, guided audience discussions about public health, freedom of the press, and environmental justice.
The play tells the story of a doctor who discovers the water supply in his small, rural town has been poisoned by a tannery. Despite his efforts to convey the truth to the public, the doctor fails to save his community from environmental disaster and is ultimately scapegoated by politicians, corporations, community members, and the local media for his whistleblowing.
An Enemy of the People was first performed in Norway in 1882, and yet it speaks to the present moment as if it were written for our times — to the corrosive influence of power and money in politics, the erosion of trust in institutions, the challenges to public health and to the free press, and the many other polarizing forces at work in our culture today. By presenting scenes from the play in public settings, featuring a variety of stakeholders, the project aims to create the conditions for open, constructive dialogue and positive action at this critical juncture.
About the play
-
An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen
First performed in Norway in 1882, An Enemy of The People tells the story of a doctor who discovers the water supply in his small, rural town has been poisoned by a tannery. Despite his efforts to convey the truth to the public, the doctor fails to save his community from environmental disaster and is ultimately scapegoated for his whistleblowing.
Cast Members
-
Willem Dafoe
-
Marjolaine Goldsmith
-
Brian F. O'Byrne
-
Jason Isaacs
-
Frankie Faison
-
Rafika Chawishe
-
Laurie Eustis
Explore Projects
-
GenocideThe InvestigationTheater of War Productions and the Museum of Jewish Heritage, in partnership with the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, present readings of scenes Peter Weiss' play The Investigation, a piece of documentary theater adapted from the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials of 1963-1965. This project centers on guided discussions about mass murder and its lasting impact upon individuals, families, communities, and countries throughout the world. Performed by a diverse cast, including international performers from communities affected by genocide, The Investigation seeks to generate powerful dialogue across cultures and communities about the human capacity for evil, as well as the systems and hierarchies that create the conditions for unthinkable violence.
-
RacismMothers of The MovementA conversation with Gwen Carr—mother of Eric Garner, author of This Stops Today—and Valerie Bell—mother of Sean Bell, author of Just 23—about their tireless work as Mothers of the Movement to end police violence.
-
War & Mental HealthTheater of War: Hector, Andromache, and the Death of AstyanaxTheater of War: Hector, Andromache, and the Death of Astyanax presents live, dramatic readings of selections from Homer’s Iliad, Book VI and scenes from The Trojan Women by Euripides—featuring acclaimed actors and a Chorus of students, from a variety of backgrounds, whose lives have been impacted by war—to help frame powerful, healing dialogue about the human cost of war, centered on the suffering of children and civilians. The project uses ancient texts that explore and depict the dehumanization of war to create a vocabulary for openly discussing challenging and divisive subjects, with the aim of generating compassion, empathy, moral repair, understanding, and positive action.