Ibsen: Four Major Plays (A Doll House, Ghosts, An Enemy of the People, and Hedda Gabbler), Vol. 1 » (1st Edition)

These translations, which were created through a fresh approach to the original, have been produced and refined in major theaters. This is the first of three Smith and Kraus volumes of Ibsen's work.

Library Journal

Students and theater artists engaged in either the study or performance of Ibsen's work have traditionally encountered the dichotomy of being faithful to Ibsen's intense realism while struggling with conservative and stilted translations. Davis and Johnston, a director/dramaturg and a professor of dramatic literature, respectively, responded to this inherent difficulty by collaborating to create new and excellent translations of four of Ibsen's most produced plays: A Doll's House, Ghosts, An Enemy of the People, and Hedda Gabler. Standard English translations by Michael Meyer and Rolf Fjelde are comparatively dense and theatrically thick next to Davis and Johnston's texts. Their efforts are more forceful, given the production-oriented impetus of their original work together. The profanity, for example, found throughout An Enemy of the People is not diluted as it is in most translations, but given full vent. Davis and Johnston have successfully translated Ibsen for the contemporary stage, and this major work will be of significance to anyone involved with the playwright's work.-Barry X. Miller, Austin P.L., Tex.