“If the only way I can be a friend of the people is to take charge of that corruption, then I am an enemy!”
This is one of my favourite plays. The last time I saw a production of it was about five years ago, and I think every time you revisit it, it will be relevant to the time you are living in.
Director Phil Willmott starts 2019 with three plays within an Essential Classics Season called “Enemies of the People”. It starts with Arthur Miller’s version of Henrik Ibsen’s timeless political and human play about a doctor who wants to save his town by stopping the opening of a new Spring due to his discovery of unclean waters. The Spring however is a promise of new economic life in the village, and the local mayor and soon the local newspaper’s board will do everything to stop Dr Stockmann from spreading his new-found information.
