Island Theatre tackles Henrik Ibsen.

You can check out Ibsen at the library.

Sound obvious?

This news does not refer to a leather-bound compilation of the Norwegian playwright’s works and a library card. It’s about live performances and free admission.

Island Theatre will perform Henrik Ibsen’s play, “An Enemy of the People,” in every Kitsap County library branch in November. The tour celebrates the centenary of the father of modern drama, and pays tribute to the library system.

“There is something really beautiful about the literature coming to life right in the libraries where the books are held, and where there is this constant energy centered around the art of literature,” said Stephen Stolee, director.

Island Theatre, founded in 1994, performs bi-monthly play-reading series at the Bainbridge Library, as well as full stagings in theatres, barns, churches and living rooms. The upcoming performances mark the troupe’s first county-wide tour.

Stolee recruited the cast and crew from all over Kitsap, and secured sponsorships throughout the county.

“It’s had this outreach feeling to it, which is nice because all around the world this year there are productions honoring Ibsen and his work,” Stolee said. “It becomes part of that greater fabric – this worldwide effort to acknowledge the master of modern drama.”

Island Theatre’s decision to perform Arthur Miller’s 1958 adaptation of “An Enemy of the People” sparked the collaborative effort. The play, written in 1882, ignited controversy in its time, and still overflows with provocative issues for today’s audience.

Industrial whistle-blowing, environmental pollution, political corruption, class friction, the independence and integrity of the press – Ibsen’s themes read like a Hollywood script.

In “An Enemy of the People,” a small- town doctor discovers that the water in his town’s spa is contaminated by upstream industrial waste. When Dr. Stockmann announces his finding, his alert is ignored by the leaders of the town, and he himself is branded “an enemy of the people” because his message may hurt the local economy.

Stockmann’s convictions are unshaken. “You should never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for freedom and truth,” he warns.

The idealistic doctor is not the only townsperson concerned with truth. Every character flirts with the idea of certitude, as Ibsen weaves its presence throughout the play, never tying the loose ends.

“The lovely thing about it for me is that the truth isn’t decided for or defined – it’s always this issue that has to be formed and shaped by the individual,” Stolee said. “Being presented with the material and being allowed to decided how we feel about it without it being forced is a delight. It’s all about discovery.”

The library sets the perfect stage for discovery. The intimacy of the performance space closes the traditional gap between the audience and the actors.

“You can feel the heat,” Stolee said.

The actors will perform a full recitation of “An Enemy of the People” in period costumes and with a few props, but without sets. The production needs to run in this way because it will travel across the county, but Stolee says that the staging will also enhance the audience’s experience.

Without the excess of visual details, words and gestures are clearer, larger.

“It becomes a bit like a radio drama – the audience listens to the words and the voices,” he said. “The audience is uninhibited – they can go as far as they want with constructing some idea of how this looks and plays in their mind.

“The text will be the heartbeat of the drama, and stage movement will be an enhancement that makes the text easier to absorb.”

Every performance will be followed by an audience “talk-back” with Stolee and the cast. The discussions should prove to be engaging, as Ibsen raises more questions than he answers in the play.

Stolee, who is of Norwegian ancestry, said he is proud to present a tribute to Ibsen in a county rich in Scandinavian heritage. Even though Ibsen’s works are second only to Shakespeare in the number of worldwide productions, the playwright still lacks the Bard’s recognition.

Stolee hope to give Ibsen his deserved “props,” at least in Kitsap.

“It’s so interesting to look at it from this perspective of a 19th century writer,” he said, “to be seeing what’s happening now through the eyes of somebody who seems almost prescient.”

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Great performances

Opening on November 3 at the Bainbridge Library, Island Theatre’s production of Henrik Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People” will follow with one-performance stops at libraries in Poulsbo, Manchester, Kingston, Bremerton, Little Boston, Silverdale and Port Orchard, as well as a guest presentation for Bainbridge Performing Arts at the Playhouse on Bainbridge Island, and at the Sons of Norway Hall in Poulsbo. For more information call the Kitsap Regional Library at (360) 405-9100 or Island Theatre at 842-1301.