Danish playwright Henrik Ibsen wrote his famous play 140 years ago Crazy (Dollhouse, 1879), but we Slovenians became acquainted with it more than a decade later.
The first Slovenian translator Crazy was Fran Gestrin. His translation was first performed on March 27, 1892, directed by Ignacij Borštnik, who also appeared in the role of Nora's husband, lawyer Helmer. Nora was played by Borštnik's wife Zofija. We have exhibited some material about the famous theatrical couple in Ibsen's Crazy. Soon after, they went to Zagreb and continued their creative journey there. The next Ljubljana production of Ibsen's famous play was dedicated to Zofija Borštnik Zvonarjeva: on December 10, 1907, on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of her artistic career, she again presented herself to the Slovenian audience in the role of Nora. She was also joined by Hinko Nučič, Danilo, Avgusta Danilova and Leon Dragutinović, who also directed the production.
Next premiere Crazy was on March 13, 1920. The main role was again performed by Zofija Borštnik, who had left Zagreb and returned to the Ljubljana drama ensemble, almost thirty years after the first performance. Critics were not impressed with her interpretation this time. The actress sparked a public newspaper controversy that ended with her final departure from Ljubljana. Nora's husband was played by Ivo Gaberščik from Trieste, and Danilo, Rade Pregarc, Nana Wintrova, Angela Rakar and others also performed. A new translation into Slovene, prepared by the writer Miran Jarc (1900–1942), was also used as a template for the performance for the first time. The translator was – in contrast to the seasoned Nora – still very young. At the premiere, he was nineteen years old and faced with such a demanding task for the first time. Among the more interesting exhibits in our exhibition is Jarc's manuscript.
The previous translation, by Fran Gestrin, is only partially preserved. The folder with Jarč's translation also contains the roles in Gestrin's version, but Nora's text is missing. Gestrin's translation was also performed twice in Trieste. In 1909, Crazy directed and played by Avgust Danilov, and in 1919 the drama was staged in Trieste by Emil Kralj.
The director Hinko Nučič is listed as the translator of the Maribor production between the two wars, but his translation has not been preserved. The next person to tackle the translation of Ibsen's Crazy, was written by Andrej Hieng, who prepared the text for the post-war Trieste production. The premiere was on July 10, 1952, and the production was directed by Ljudevit Crnobori. A typescript of Hieng's translation, which was not published in a book edition, is on display.
In the sixties, Crazy Translated from Norwegian by Janko Moder. The translation is included with Pillars of society and Fears published in a book collection CondorBlue version Crazy It also lived on stage in the following decades. Directed by Dušan Mlakar, it was performed in Gorizia (1979) and Kranj (1992), and it said goodbye with a reading performance at the MGL (2014, directed by Ira Ratej). In addition to Condors the translation was also published in other book editions with large print runs.
For the performance at the SLG in Celje Crazy translated by Darko Čuden in 2016. The text was published as a supplement to the theatre magazine (Gl. list SLG Celje 2016/17, no. 4). The production was directed by Nikola Zavišić.
Among the book editions, theater typescripts, and theater scores that we are exhibiting, it is worth highlighting the hundred-year-old sheet music for Nora's Dance of the Tarantella and the signed text by actor Rade Pregarc, who appeared in the production at the Ljubljana Drama Theater in 1920.
Nora in Translations of Dramatic Texts