Gender Allows A Different Perspective On Ibsen’s “Der Volksfeind” (“An Enemy Of The People”) In Bremerhaven

In 2019, Landestheater Salzburg used a new translation of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People as the basis for a version of the play in which Dr Katrine Stockmann was female, a single mother to her daughter Petra, who was a teacher. Dr Stockmann’s main adversary, Mayor Peter Stockmann (older sibling of Dr Stockmann), the editor of the local newspaper, Hovstad, and his assistant, Billing, remained male characters as in the original, while printer Aslaksen was female.

The 2025 production of the play at the municipal theatre in Bremerhaven used the same translation, by Angelika Gundlach. Dr. Katrine Stockmann was female, married to teacher Tomas Stockmann, they had one adolescent daughter, Martina. The sibling adversary was female, Petra Stockmann, as was Hovstad, the newspaper editor. Aslaksen and Billing were male. Both the Salzburg and the Bremerhaven versions omitted the character of Captain Horster – admittedly a minor character, but potentially important to the plot because in Ibsen’s original, he is the only character who supports the Stockmann family in difficult times.

Ultimately, each version of a play, even if not explicitly identified as a version, needs to prove itself in production independent of the original text of inspiration. The Bremerhaven production, directed by Florian Thiel, was convincing in its own right. Dr Katrine Stockmann was a woman who was in command and in charge of her life. Her relationship with her sister Petra was one of conventional, but up to this point never excessive sibling rivalry. The sisters were quite different from each other: Petra had always needed, and had worked hard to obtain in her life and in her city, above all structure and order, including clear patterns of hierarchy. Katrine, on the other hand, sought to apply structure and order (in her science) to a wider context of life. It is here where the sisters were of different opinions. Moreover, Katrine was not restricted by her context and framework to the extent Petra was, and her thinking and argument were fuelled by strong, even volatile emotions to which she gave free reign – whereas Petra had her emotions under as much control as the rest of her life. The sisters had never been able to comprehend how the other one functioned. The confirmation that the wealth-bringing spa waters were poisoned at the beginning of the play’s action launched Katrine’s crusade-like action to prevent illness and potential death of spa guests, which soon gave rise to more fundamental and far-reaching political positions in terms of action that needed to be taken against corruption in society as a whole.

Marsha B. Zimmermann as Dr Katrine Stockmann added yet another feisty main Ibsen character to her portfolio (following from Hedda Gabler a few seasons ago). Her transition from concerned medical professional to general socialist was seamless and convincing. Julia Lindhorst-Apfelthaler provided a strong contrast as the cool, calculating mayoress, who does not hesitate to put career first and family second at best. Henning Z Bäcker has been cast as the macho man in several, possibly many previous Bremerhaven productions. The title character in Goldoni’s Servant of Two Masters and Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing come to mind. Here, he was cast as Katrine’s teacher husband Tomas, a gentle giant, who needs to reassure her that he is on her side because the way he behaves, his conciliatory, shy manners, might suggest the opposite at times. Anna Caterina Fadda, who played Juliet in Bremerhaven’s 2024 summer open air production of Romeo and Juliet, was Hovstadt, the newspaper reporter. She played her as a young, enthusiastic woman, whose opinion shifts very quickly in line with how she can interpret the circumstances at any moment, in true turncoat fashion. She never came across as malevolent at any time, just stupid and ignorant, which made her all the more unpredictable and thus dangerous. Alexander Smirzitz was compelling as Billing, Hovstadt’s underling at the newspaper, who did not have any of his own opinions, just repeating his boss’s opinions and words of the moment, most likely without even understanding them. While Hovstadt sought to come across as masculine, with business suit and hair in a bun, Billing looked less formal and had shoulder-length hair. Frank Auerbach was genuinely and dangerously creepy as Aslaksen, aware of his power, wielding that power proudly, but always claiming to be on the side of those without power and preaching moderation where he exercised none himself. Kay Krause was the old and nasty owner of the factory that was the major cause of the spa’s pollution. Moral and ethical behaviour are concepts completely alien to him.

Andreas Schmitz created a simple, intriguing set for this production in the theatre’s small, 100-seat venue: an empty space surrounded by wooden walls, with vertical and horizontal symmetric gaps at the back, without windowpanes, with views of the back wall of the stage space. Schmitz also designed the costumes, with strikingly brightly coloured contemporary outfits for the central sisters, and more moderate colours for the other characters.