TORVALD
A masculine mancave monologue from a middle-aged man in midlife crisis
“You think you fought for your liberation all on your own. But you wouldn’t be free – if we did not set you free. So thank your Daddy for your human rights.”
– Torvald
Nora left. Torvald stayed. Ibsen’s abandoned husband, dropped into our present: a divorced father whose grown-up children have taken over the villa and banished him to the basement. His mancave. The only place left where he is allowed to be himself. There he invites you to dinner.
And who is Torvald? A white, middle-aged, cisgendered, heterosexual, divorced man from the upper middle class, with no mental or physical disabilities, who views himself and is viewed by others as exclusively Norwegian. The majority man – the man who is supposedly on top.
Seated as his guests at a lavishly laid last supper, you get his side of the story. He rants about woke culture and the silent majority, defends himself, apologises, attacks again, sings karaoke and dances Nora’s tarantella on the table. He has no intention of asking for consent first.
TORVALD is about male self-understanding today: misplacement, irrelevance, and the search for a constructive masculinity that does not apologise for being masculine. Where men stay silent, the statistics are loud – violence, suicide, loneliness, depression – while misogyny and ideas of male supremacy are having a renaissance online. Can you teach an old dog new tricks? Or is it us who need to learn from the old dog? Torvald is trying, failing and trying again. As you descend into his mancave, you make his irrelevant voice relevant again. Listen carefully. He has a lot on his mind.
Approx. 2 hours · 30–55 guests · One actor, one performer/technician · Fits any room with a table. Performed in Norwegian; French translation available; English version by Kate Pendry in progress for the Ibsen bicentenary 2028. Ibrahim Fazlic Productions holds five-year funding from Arts Council Norway (2026–2030), and TORVALD is the production that will take the company abroad. We are looking for venues and partners for staged readings and the full production.
Press
“Fazlic injects Ibsen with a dose of Strindberg.” – Dagens Nyheter
“Totally disarming – I sit on the edge of my seat waiting for what comes next.” – KULTmagasin
“A fine theatre experience and a wise and brave invitation to reflection.” – Norsk Shakespearetidsskrift
“An overflowing universe of references and treats.” – Norsk Shakespearetidsskrift
More: Adresseavisen · Bergens Tidende · iHarstad · all reviews
Credits
Concept: Henrik Ibsen and Ibrahim Fazlic
Text and direction: Ibrahim Fazlic
Actor: Harald Kolaas
Space, set design and co-performer: Eilif Fjeld Teisbo
Lighting and technics: Thomas Gallagher
Dramaturg: Eirik Fauske · Dramaturg, Dramatikkens hus: Kristina Kjeldsberg
Producer: Sjur Marqvardsen (2026), Hanna Kanutta Helstad (2023–24)
Co-producers: Black Box teater and Grenland Friteater
Developed with the Ibsen Scope scholarship · Supported by Arts Council Norway, Dramatikkens hus, Fritt Ord, FFUK and Fond for lyd og bilde
Performance history
2022–23: Staged readings, Dramatikkens hus, Oslo · Ibsen Scope Festival, Skien · Festival d’Avignon, Norwegian pavilion (French translation)
2024: World premiere Grenland Friteater / Vinterscenen, Porsgrunn · Tou Scene, Stavanger · Black Box teater, Oslo · Festspillene i Nord-Norge, Harstad · Bergen Dramatikkfestival
2026: Balkanfest x Trøndelag Teater, Trondheim · Turteatern, Stockholm
Booking
Producer Sjur Marqvardsen – ib-faz@hotmail.com
Photos: Synne Sofi Bårdsdatter Bønes / Bergen Dramatikkfestival 2024
