Performance and Q&A discussion: An Enemy of the People

Presented by Theater of War Productions

An Enemy of the People presents acclaimed actors, journalists, public health leaders, scientists, climate activists, elected officials, and local community members performing dramatic readings of scenes from Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 play An Enemy of the People as a catalyst for powerful, guided audience discussions about public health, freedom of the press, and environmental justice. 

The play tells the story of a doctor who discovers the water supply in his small, rural town has been poisoned by a tannery. Despite his efforts to convey the truth to the public, the doctor fails to save his community from environmental disaster and is ultimately scapegoated by politicians, corporations, community members, and the local media for his whistleblowing.   

An Enemy of the People was first performed in Norway in 1882, and yet it speaks to the present moment as if it were written for our times — to the corrosive influence of power and money in politics, the erosion of trust in institutions, the challenges to public health and to the free press, and the many other polarizing forces at work in our culture today. By presenting scenes from the play in public settings, featuring a variety of stakeholders, the project aims to create the conditions for open, constructive dialogue and positive action at this critical juncture.