I thought I’d share some of my thoughts from watching Mark in An Enemy of the People earlier this month. My notes ended up pretty long, so I’ve extracted some of my thoughts and highlights and a high level overview of the play. It’s still a long read! You can read the notes below too, if you want. TLDR; it was a brilliant experience and Mark is amazing on stage!
Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People is a classic play that’s incredibly relevant to the world we live in today. Do we embrace reality and accept the truth no matter what, or do we try to evade an inconvenient truth and pretend things we don’t like out of existence? Do we take a long-term view of life or focus on the short-term? Lots of food for thought, and not difficult to apply that to life in the twenties.
The play tells the story of Dr Tomas Stockmann (played by Mark), a hero who thinks for himself, embraces the truth, and stands by his principles no matter how difficult life gets. And it really does get extremely difficult as Dr Stockmann is faced with one challenge after another as almost the whole town turns against him because he chooses to stand by his principles. I watched all four performances, and enjoyed each one immensely. I have good things to say about each member of the cast, but Mark is my focus here and he was absolutely brilliant. I heard many other members of the audience say this too, during the intervals and at the end. There’s something about Mark on the stage that draws you in. He uses his voice masterfully (even on the day he had laryngitis!) and his physical movements and expressions add truth to his words. There’s a depth to everything he does and says. It’s art, and it’s beautiful. Mark’s wife Tracy shares credit for his excellence as they worked together on the preparation, discussing the script, values and direction. They are one hell of a team! I could only imagine what a full play would be like, though I hope I don’t have to imagine it forever because this left me wanting more.
The play is in five acts. The first act sets the scene and introduces the characters. Dr Tomas Stockmann is happy because he’s identified the poison that’s making people who visit the town’s healing Baths (where he is employed as the Medical Officer) sick. Following Dr Stockmann’s lead, the liberal newspaper men and small business owners who make up the town’s majority offer their support, which Dr Stockmann doesn’t think he’ll need because the poisoned water supply seems straightforward to him: there is a problem with the water supply and they’ll fix it. In the second act, the conflict starts as Dr Stockmann’s brother Peter, the mayor and chairman of the Baths Committee, is not at all grateful to Tomas for identifying the problem. Unlike his brother, who is honest and reality oriented, Peter Stockmann wants to bury the report because of the damage it will do for the town even though people are already getting sick. Peter asks Tomas to keep the report to himself, warning of negative consequences for him and his family if the news gets out.
The third act starts the build to the climax; Dr Stockmann loses his allies one by one as they cave to pressure from the mayor, evade the truth and hope the problem magically goes away. Mark’s a delight to watch as he takes Tomas on this journey, his emotions and his changing demeanour as he starts to see the reality of the toxic society he’s living in. The decline continues into act four as the mayor and his cronies try to silence and then turn public opinion against Dr Stockmann as he attempts to share the truth without the support of the Baths committee or the newspaper. At a public meeting, Dr Stockmann is declared an enemy of the people, and everyone who stands with him gets fired shortly later. The poison evident in the evasion and corruption in the town’s leaders, and the unthinking mob that follows like sheep, has become more of an issue than the poison evident in the water supply. As the fourth act ends, the situation is untenable and Dr Stockmann is on the brink of taking his family to start over in the new world: a life on the frontiers might be difficult, but at least he’d be free.
The final act brings false accusations of corruption against Dr Stockmann, and temptation in the form of securing his family’s future at the cost of his integrity. Mark does an excellent job of conveying the difficult choice Dr Stockmann makes as he decides to take a stand — he’s principled but he’s not an emotionless robot. Dr Stockman understands the consequences of his decisions for those he loves, and it really shows. He discovers that ‘the strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone’ and he is that man. He’s going to fight for the type of society he wants for his children by teaching boys how to think for themselves. The play ends when Dr Stockmann is at his lowest point in some respects, with everyone against him, dismissed from his job and evicted from his home. But he’s at his strongest point morally having faced and defeated a series of trials, and he has a plan. The ending is heroic, hopeful and full of promise for the future. It’s also tender as Mark puts his arms around his family and holds them close.
Despite the serious topic and the important message, The Enemy of the People is a comedy and it really was funny. Some of the comedy was physical, almost slapstick, and the cast did that well even without a set or many props. Two particular highlights were when Dr Stockmann donned his brother’s hat and walked up and down pretending to be the mayor (it was hilarious), and later when Dr Stockmann chased Aslaksen, the printer, and Hovstad, the newspaper editor, around, brandishing an umbrella and shouting at them to leave.
Both these scenes took place in the space between the stage and the audience, so they created a bit of a stir as well as generating a lot of laughter at the sudden activity. Mark is incredibly funny, and I really enjoyed these moments and all the clever lines he delivers so well. He has great timing! When I was talking to Tracy one evening, she mentioned how good Mark had been as Malvolio in Twelfth Night. Another play I wish I’d seen him in! (Their production of Hamlet sounds amazing too). Mark’s great on TV and in movies, but I think there’s something magical about seeing him on a stage. I’d also love to see him do more comedy on screen.
There were many other funny lines and recurring situations, such as Dr Stockmann always forgetting the name of his maid and Mark’s timing and gestures really making it seem as if he’s forgotten; Tomas’s son Morten telling his sister Petra (played by Veronica Kraemer — a former student of Tracy and Mark!) that she must be a very bad person because she works so hard; Aslaksen trying to appease everyone and absolve himself from any and all decisions and responsibility (it was laugh or cry at his extremely slippery shoulders!); Tomas Stockmann pointing out the luxuries he can ‘almost’ afford to his brother was funny, Mark with his arm around the actor playing the mayor, pointing out soft furnishings; and Dr Stockmann’s father in law thinking the ‘invisible animals’ (bacteria) in the water supply was a joke designed to make an ass of the mayor. It all made for a very entertaining staged reading. The whole thing was very well done, and I’m very happy I got to see it in person.
After each performance, the actors sat down for a ten minute Q&A with the audience. This was a good opportunity to hear what the actors thought of the play, their previous experience with Ibsen, and, in Mark’s case, for him to talk about the state of the world. “In a day and age where consensus is just another word for establishment approved, and where mobs shout down rational dissent, it’s important to remember that groups don’t think, individuals do, and that fidelity to reality and not our tribe is what makes you strong.” He’s a very inspirational speaker.
After the Saturday performance, there was also a meet and greet with Mark for sponsors. It was quite a small group, so there was time to chat and take a few photos, which was cool.
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Notes
If you want something closer to a play-by-play, these are the notes I made as I tried to recall everything I could after getting home. I will have forgotten some things and probably mis-remembered others. I referred to the book for a reminder of the order and structure, but I have a different adaptation to the one used by Austin Shakespeare and the dialogue was quite different.
The events were well organised and the performances took place in a small radio theatre with great acoustics and good lighting. The incidental music was top notch. The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly and the performances were well attended.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from a staged reading — I had imagined something like a table read with the actors sitting around in a semi-circle, but it was much better than this. The stage was set up with reading stands so the actors could stand side by side. The actors used a stand most of the time they were in a scene, but some use was made of the floor area too which brought the action up close and personal, particularly when sitting in the front row! The actors all read from scripts, though a couple seemed quite familiar with their parts.
Act I
The first act establishes the relationship between the main characters. We’re introduced first to Peter Stockmann, Mayor and the voice of the establishment, and from the start we understand that he and his brother don’t understand each other, “My brother has many ideas, unfortunately.” Although Peter disapproves of ideas, he wants credit for the Baths, something that is bringing prosperity to the town, even though it was originally Tomas’s idea. This is the topic of conversation between Kathryn (Tomas’s wife), Peter, Hovstad (the Newspaper Editor) and Billing (the Newspaper Sub-Editor), when Tomas arrives home.
We hear Dr Tomas Stockmann before we see him — he sounds happy and jovial, and he’s brought another guest, Captain Horster, home to share his food, hot rum, and cigars. Tomas is surrounded by his family and bright young minds, and he enjoys buying and sharing the luxuries he can “pretty much” afford (something that gets a good laugh from the audience). Mark is looking well, and he has a very full beard. There’s a humorous moment where Tomas has an arm around Peter, pointing out some of the nice things he has in his home; Peter seems to find the whole experience painful, but Tomas makes him look. I loved how Mark played this — firm, but subtle and endearing. This scene shows how different the brothers are — Tomas is warm, welcoming, full of life, and excited about the future. Peter is closed, derisive, uptight and disapproves when Tomas calls the two of them ‘old farts’. There’s almost a touch of A Christmas Carol, with Peter as the Scrooge character who doesn’t want to participate in the festivities.
Tomas has been waiting for a letter, and when it arrives — via his daughter Petra, who’s had it all day — he goes off to read it. A couple of minutes later, Tomas reenters the stage holding up an open letter — all eyes are on him. Mark is softly spoken (particularly on the day he had laryngitis), but he easily commands everyone’s attention as he explains that the Baths that the town has invested so much time and money in (and where Tomas works as a Medical Officer) are full of bacteria and the water is dangerous to drink or even to bathe in. Tomas is happy that he’s discovered why people were getting sick, and he expects the Baths Committee and his brother to say ‘thank you’ for his good work in identifying this problem so they can fix it. A recurring joke is that Tomas can never remember the maid’s name, and there was a very funny moment when Tomas wants his wife to send ‘the girl’ with his report to the Mayor and it seems like Mark has actually forgotten her name — which we know he hasn’t because he has a script in front of him! By this point, it was already clear that although this wasn’t a full play, Mark was doing a lot more than reading and it was wonderful to see the result of some of the choices he’d made about his character. It was very easy to be drawn into the story.
As the first act ends, Tomas is happy that he has been able to provide such a great service to his fellow citizens. He has the approval of his family (Kathryn and Petra), the men from the newspaper (Hovstad and Billing) and his friend Horster who all drink to his health. However, there’s a hint in Horster’s wish that this brings him ‘nothing but luck’ that seems even more ominous than Peter’s earlier warning that one day he’ll suffer for behaving as an individual.
I thought the first act set the scene well. We learned a lot about Dr Tomas Stockmann. He’s a man of science and reason who has done a good thing for his town, and he’s a generous and benevolent man with a long-range view. Mark brought those characteristics out really well, making Tomas likeable and believable. I like how Tomas, the individualist, is at the centre of a lively group whereas Peter, the authoritarian, is a bachelor who does not appear particularly social. Even though it was a staged reading rather than a full play, Mark brought Tomas alive and was interacting with his cast members in a way that added a lot of depth to his character in a very short time. There are a lot of funny moments, and a lot of that was in the delivery.
Act II
As the second act begins, there’s a funny exchange between Tomas and his father-in-law, Morten Kiil, who thinks Tomas is just out to make an ass of his brother with this fantastic tale of ‘invisible animals’ in the water supply. This scene was a great moment, because the two characters were as different in demeanour as they were in their understanding of the situation; Kiil loud and brash and Tomas earnest and a little bemused as Kill promises a charitable donation if he can pull this joke off against the town, “the old man thinks it’s all a joke!” Hovstad and Aslaksen (the printer) offer support Tomas doesn’t think he needs because he believes the committee will want to fix this problem with the Baths. Hovstad sees himself as an agitator against the establishment, Aslaksen represents the town’s small business owners whose prosperity is tied into the success of the Baths.
By this point in the first show, I already appreciated how much Mark brought to the performance; even in a reading, he doesn’t rely on the words and his voice alone — his expressions, gestures, interactions with other cast members, movements, the way he uses his voice and the limited space and props available all make for an extremely engaging reading. There’s a subtlety and preciseness to everything Mark does and the result seems layered, nuanced and natural. It’s extremely pleasing to watch.
As Act II continues, Peter arrives to discuss the report, and (unsurprisingly) he isn’t as grateful as Tomas expected, accusing Tomas of destroying his town if they have to close the Baths down. Peter’s focus is on the damage Tomas’s report will do to the town’s — and his — reputation while Tomas’s focus is on the damage the bacteria in the water will do to the Baths’ visitors. As Peter made the bad decision (against his brother’s advice) that led to the water becoming contaminated, he’s concerned about his reputation, power and authority if it gets out — Tomas is concerned about the truth and does not want to participate in a fraud against the community by hiding it. The difference between the two brothers became even clearer. Peter is officious and cares about being seen as a good leader of the community. Tomas wants to do the right thing. There’s something about this that’s reminiscent of conversations between Peter Keating and Howard Roark in The Fountainhead. Peter seems as much of a second hander as his namesake.
On learning that the newspaper men already have the information, Peter starts talking about the consequences for Tomas if the information gets out, and wants Tomas to refute the ‘rumours’ in public. There’s a funny moment when Tomas says it’s the duty of a citizen to share his new ideas and Peter says people don’t need any more ideas. Mark’s expression makes it clear what Tomas thinks of that! This is one of many points in the play where it feels like this is the perfect character for Mark, standing for reality, honesty and integrity even at risk of a personal cost.
Peter informs Tomas that as an employee of the Baths, he has no right to any individual opinion that disagrees with his superiors. This makes Tomas angry, and we see signs of the temper that’s been hinted at. Peter threatens to dismiss Tomas from his job, talking about the consequences for his family. Peter calls Tomas an enemy to their community then leaves before Tomas, increasingly angry, loses his temper.
Tomas’s wife Kathryn doesn’t want him to take on his brother, concerned about what will become of their son, but his daughter Petra agrees he should stand up for what’s right. Petra is a chip off the old block (and the actress who plays her has some of the qualities I love about Mark’s acting). Tomas has a different idea of what it means to do the right thing for his son — the thing that will mean he can look him in the eye when he’s a grown man.
Act III
The third act is set in the newspaper office. Hovstad and Billing are discussing the report when Tomas comes in and tells them to print it. Tomas is defiant in the face of opposition from the mayor; he and the editors are ready to take down the authorities. Aslaksen calls for moderation, he is the voice of middle-of-the-road appeasement. Hovstad thinks the report is brilliant, Tomas replies “I think so too!” which makes everyone laugh, and shows us again that Tomas is an independent man who knows his own mind. He appreciates his friends’ support but he doesn’t need their validation. It’s no longer just about the baths, ‘it’s about an entire society that must be purged and disinfected’ — Tomas wants to see young men with new ideas in charge and Mark looks ready for a fight!
Just as it seems Tomas has the newspaper on his side, the mayor calls into the newspaper office and scares them into withdrawing their support. As Peter is about to hand over his so-called “objective” summary of events, which (unlike Tomas’s report) is NOT based in reality, Tomas returns to see if Aslaksen has set the report yet. Peter hides in the back office, leaving his hat behind. This leads to one of the funniest, most ridiculous scenes. Tomas is telling Kathryn (who came into the newspaper office looking to persuade her husband to think of his family) to go home and look after the house, when he spots the mayor’s hat. Knowing his brother wouldn’t leave his hat behind, Tomas puts the hat on and walks backwards and forwards making fun of his brother, walking and talking in a silly, officious way. “Show a little respect, I’m the boss of the town!!” It’s hilarious and Mark played it in a way that’s really quite outrageous and had the whole audience in stitches. It’s so unexpected too, because so much of the dialogue takes place behind the stands on the stage and this happened on the floor right in front of those of us sitting in the front row.
Tomas is confident he can win against the mayor — and he has the whole town behind him. Or so he thought. But one by one they back down under pressure from the mayor, representing the people, and it looks like Act III is about to end with Tomas standing defiantly on his own. But in a moment that reinforces how high the personal stakes are for Tomas when it comes to the potential consequences for his family, Kathryn tells Tomas she’ll stand with him.
During this scene, the mayor eventually hands his report to Hovstad. During one of the performances they dropped the paper and as they bent down to pick it up, Tomas swooped in and snatched it up himself. It was so funny and it made absolute sense for Tomas to do that in that particular moment. It was great seeing Mark respond to things that happened, and slight changes between performances, and to imagine how much more of that there could be if he did this as a play. It was alive.
Act IV
The fourth act takes place in Captain Horster’s house — a man uninterested in politics but one of the few to stand with Tomas as he takes on the town. Horster is an interesting character. He’s loyal to Tomas but his motivation is unclear.
As the meeting that Tomas called to read his report starts, it’s taken over by Aslaksen and the mayor who decide there should be a chairman — Aslaksen. Tomas and Petra protest this vehemently both verbally and physically, but they’re ignored. Their reactions are funny, but the frustration is clear. Tomas raises his hand when the chairman calls for speakers, but it’s the mayor who’s given the floor, and he initially wants to stop Tomas from reading or discussing his report in public. Until he hears what Tomas is going to say (he pulls no punches) and then he’s all for it.
There are a lot of unseen characters in this scene as the townsfolk are offstage waiting for Tomas to speak. We hear background crowd noise and just as Tomas is about to speak, a drunken man wanders in from backstage, getting a few laughs from the audience.
It’s a shame it wasn’t possible to include the crowd as Tomas ended up giving an impassioned speech to the mayor and the newspaper men about the poison in the town he loves, and speaking to the public happened off stage at the end. It’s easy to understand why it was staged this way, but it would’ve been amazing to see interaction between Tomas and the crowd. There were some lovely moments as Tomas explained why he’d been blind to the stupidity of those in charge for so long, and how the most dangerous enemy of truth and freedom is the pack. Mark has an amazing ability to deliver a long speech in a way that keeps it interesting for the audience — he’s physically expressive which is interesting to watch and super talented at varying his voice in ways that sound natural, punctuating his words and bringing out the emotion. “He could read the phone book and I’d listen” is a cliche, but in Mark’s case it’s true! Even on the day he had laryngitis and was struggling to speak, he still managed to use various qualities of his voice to keep it interesting and bring out the emotion. I don’t know how Mark got through that performance — he could barely speak immediately after the show. He has an amazing work ethic.
The act ends as the crowd declared Tomas an enemy of the people because he does not care to live a lie.
Act V
For the final act, we are back in the Stockmanns’ home. The scene starts with Tomas inspecting a rock that’s been thrown through his window. The glazier is afraid to fix the windows that are broken because the mob has been throwing rocks and pebbles. The landlord is evicting them. Worse of all, Tomas’s good pants are ripped. Mark’s perfectly delivered, “now I know when you go out to fight for freedom and truth, you shouldn’t wear your good pants,” as he inspects his jeans gets a lot of laughs.
Tomas is thinking of leaving for the New World, taking his chances on the frontier. Kathryn wants to think of the children, but Tomas doesn’t want his children to grow up in a town like that, “Half the town has lost its minds and the other half is morons with no minds to lose!” Tomas’s rant is interrupted by Petra coming home early — she’s been dismissed from the school.
Tomas goes back to complaining about the townsfolk because, whatever it is, they “don’t dare” do it, and they’re hopeless even as thugs because they threatened to hurt him and then threw gravel. Mark’s great as Tomas reaches rock bottom — despair in the people in his country and no confidence in them being able to stand up and fight if there’s a real fight. He hopes they all rot in hell as he’s leaving to go to America — and then even that is torn away, because Captain Horster has been dismissed from his ship. The owner also “didn’t dare” stand up against the mob. A lot of otherwise ‘good people’ who don’t dare — this is the problem, not just the bad people.
Peter Stockmann arrives and demands to speak to Tomas alone. He’s dismissed from the baths, and nobody in the town will “dare” to visit his practice. Peter suggests going away for six months or so, then writing a few letters of apology … and then he accuses Tomas of being in cahoots with his father-in-law, who complains about high taxes, because Kiil has left Tomas’s family money in his will. It’s a shocking accusation against an honest man, but it’s also a funny moment as Tomas calls Peter disgusting and yells for Kathryn to fumigate the house. “Get what’s her name to smoke out the place!”
Kiil himself drops by and he has been buying up shares in the Baths — using the money he’d set aside for Kathryn and the children. He’s done this because Tomas pointed the finger at his tannery as the source of the pollution affecting the baths, giving Tomas an ultimatum to take back the comments in his report and save Kiil’s reputation or Kathryn’s money is gone. He asks how mad Tomas is — at this point, Tomas is just mad enough to take on the entire town, but he has a responsibility to his family and wants to talk to Kathryn first. It’s at this point that the closeness that’s been shown between the family members really pays off. It’s Tomas Stockmann against almost the whole town, but Tomas has a family who he’s shown he cares about. He’s been pushed about as far as a man can be pushed. The stakes are high, because it’s not just his life at stake here. Does Tomas dare?
Kiil leaves with an ultimatum, and Aslaksen and Hovstad return. Now they think Tomas was trying to make money out of the shares Kiil was buying, they are offering their support again because they want a cut. They’re critical of the obvious way he and his father-in-law did this, but not of the dishonest practice they think he’s engaged in. This leads to another hilarious moment where Tomas goes looking for his stick then chases Aslaksen and Hovstad around and off stage, brandishing an umbrella and shouting.
Tomas isn’t going to the New World now. He’s staying to fight, and he’s going to win. And, he says, as soon as his pants are mended, he’ll find them a new house! The problem Tomas has now is he doesn’t see who’s going to carry on the battle after he’s gone. Then his son Morten arrives home from school. To Morten’s delight, Tomas says he doesn’t have to go to school any more. He and Petra are going to home school him, along with twelve more boys. As none of the respectable families will send their sons, thanks to the mayor, they’re going to recruit the poor and train them to chase the wolves out of the country. Noone can chase Tomas out because he is now the strongest man in town, and in the world.
The reading ends with Tomas, Kathryn, Petra and Morten standing united as a family, and Tomas tells them his newest discovery: the strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone.
The reading seemed very well received. I heard quite a few comments about how good the reading was and how talented Mark is.
There was a Q&A with the cast and the director after each performance. On Saturday, there was a meet and greet for sponsors. For anyone who’s been to DLC, this was a lot like the private session, but just with Mark and a handful of sponsors. Tracy was there too, which was awesome.
Frankie and Jonnie were in the control room at the back of the theatre during the performances (and during the meet and greet). They are incredibly well-behaved and I don’t recall hearing a peep out of either of them. We got to say hi to them both at the end.
I didn’t take any photos during the performances, but I took a few of Mark during the meet and greet.
That’s it! If you made it this far, you should probably stand up and stretch 😉
Photo below is me (in the Reality Check teeshirt) and my friend Regina waiting in the lobby ahead of the opening night performance.
