Ein Volksfeind

A PEOPLE'S ENEMY

By Henrik Ibsen

Doctor Tomas Stockmann makes a momentous discovery: the water at the local spa is contaminated. As a scientist and inventor of the baths, he has no choice - he must publish the results. Deeply convinced of this necessity, he tries to persuade his brother, the town councillor Peter Stockmann, to make the necessary changes. But he sees the project as an attack on his authority and spins an intrigue against Tomas. The conflict soon goes beyond the boundaries of a fraternal quarrel - because the prosperity of the entire town is based on the financial success of the spa. Within a very short time, Tomas also has the press and subsequently the entire town society against him. The tension between lies and truth leads to a dramatic public vote with unforeseen consequences.

Milena Paulovics, senior director at the Oldenburg State Theatre, explores Ibsen's drama, which premiered in 1883: Which truth do we believe when it comes to our own well-being? What does democracy mean in a society in which opinions count more than facts? And is the social majority automatically in the right? A gripping story in which the actions of the characters expose the fragility of social coexistence in a tragicomic way.