Helmer’s Tragedy considers significant and frequently ignored issues relating to the struggle between intellect and emotion that can occur within the family home. The home is not always a refuge. As emphasised by film director and visual artist David Lynch, more often than not the home is a closed psychological setting coded with the disturbing suspicion that things are – or already have gone – horribly wrong. Helmer’s Tragedy explores the interplay of empty signifiers that can replace reality with a series of egocentric games, patriarchal dominance and a perversion of basic reality.
Helmer’s Tragedy references the existential stress, confusion and emotional anguish experienced by the protagonists in Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House. Written in 1879 Ibsen’s work provides a direct existential challenge to personal engagement relating to issues of gender; in particular the objectification of women, loss and identity. In so doing Ibsen, like Lynch, questions the utopian dream of an existence in freedom and truth as he takes us to a complex place of loss and alienation.
Shrouded by the confusion between beauty and darkness and the great weight of inadequate psychological dialogue, Helmer’s Tragedy is that the protagonists do not know themselves. The boundaries of home and ego are compromised and infractions into the stability of the home have festered to become incursions into the mind.
Opening night: Friday 30th September: 6-9pm
With guest speaker Dr Craig Douglas and music by Barb Fordham and The Trespassers
Opening Times:
Monday to Friday 10am – 4pm
Saturdays: 10am – 3pm
Sundays: 10am – 2pm
