A Bee in the Heart of Her - English Theatre Berlin

The world premiere of a new piece of music theater by Sibyl Kempson

If Nora Helmer, Henrik Ibsen’s famous female protagonist, could speak anything besides Henrik’s text, what would she say? How about Hedda Gabler, Mrs. Sørby or Ellida Wangel? Can characters express themselves beyond their playwright? In song, perhaps?

This is exactly where Sibyl Kempson’s alchemical new work A Bee in the Heart of Her comes in. Over the course of a weaving workshop for recovering Ibsen women led by Mrs. Sørby in a rundown community center, these trailblazing characters confront mistranslations, misunderstandings, mansplaining and everything else that Ibsen got wrong, in detail.

With Kempson’s lyrical text set to original music composed by Robert M. Johanson (Nature Theater of Oklahoma), A Bee in the Heart of Her lets these women tell their own stories and finally set the record straight.