Henrik Ibsen

Little Eyolf Henrik Ibsen

Publisher Marketing: [A pretty and richly-decorated garden-room, full of furniture, flowers, and plants. At the back, open glass doors, leading out to a verandah. An extensive view over the fiord. In the distance, wooded hillsides. A door in each of the side walls, the one on the right a folding door, placed far back. In front on the right, a sofa, with cushions and rugs. Beside the sofa, a small table, and chairs. In front, on the left, a larger table, with arm-chairs around it. On the table stands an open hand-bag. It is an early summer morning, with warm sunshine.] [Mrs. RITA ALLMERS stands beside the table, facing towards the left, engaged in unpacking the bag. She is a handsome, rather tall, well-developed blonde, about thirty years of age, dressed in a light-coloured morning-gown.] [Shortly after, Miss ASTA ALLMERS enters by the door on the right, wearing a light brown summer dress, with hat, jacket, and parasol. Under her arm she carries a locked portfolio of considerable size. She is slim, of middle height, with dark hair, and deep, earnest eyes. Twenty-five years old.] ASTA. [As she enters.] Good-morning, my dear Rita. RITA. [Turns her head, and nods to her.] What! is that you, Asta? Come all the way from town so early? ASTA. [Takes of her things, and lays them on a chair beside the door.] Yes, such a restless feeling came over me. I felt I must come out to-day, and see how little Eyolf was getting on-and you too. [Lays the portfolio on the table beside the sofa.] So I took the steamer, and here I am. RITA. [Smiling to her.] And I daresay you met one or other of your friends on board? Quite by chance, of course. ASTA. [Quietly.] No, I did not meet a soul I knew. [Sees the bag.] Why, Rita, what have you got there? RITA. [Still unpacking.] Alfred's travelling-bag. Don't you recognise it? ASTA. [Joyfully, approaching her.] What! Has Alfred come home? RITA. Yes, only think-he came quite unexpectedly by the late train last night. Contributor Bio:  Ibsen, Henrik Born in 1828, Henrik Ibsen was a Norwegian playwright and poet, often associated with the early Modernist movement in theatre. Determined to become a playwright from a young age, Ibsen began writing while working as an apprentice pharmacist to help support his family. Though his early plays were largely unsuccessful, Ibsen was able to take employment at a theatre where he worked as a writer, director, and producer. Ibsen's first success came with Brand and Peter Gynt, and with later plays like A Doll's House, Ghosts, and The Master Builder he became one of the most performed playwrights in the world, second only to William Shakespeare. Ibsen died in his home in Norway in 1906 at the age of 78.