Henrik Johan Ibsen (1828-1906) is a famous Norwegian playwright
and is a celebrated national symbol. His plays challenged the
social rules of Victorian society and spurred on the Realism art
movement. Ibsen wrote his plays in Norwegian and even after
translation his plays are still a mastery of craft and are the
most performed works after Shakespeare. As such, Ibsen is often
referred to as the ‘father of modern drama’. His most notable
plays are Peer Gynt (1867), A Doll’s House (1879) and Ghosts
(1881).  In 2006 Norway celebrated Ibsen and his works with
theatre, dance, music, poetry and art throughout the country and
around the world. Even though 2006 was a special year of
celebration, the 100th anniversary of Ibsen’s death, here in
Norway every year is the year of Ibsen. It seems that each
theatrical company is dedicated to having at least one Ibsen
production a year. Last year in December, Hålogaland Teater in
Tromsø performed Peer Gynt and just four months later a season
of Et dukkehjem (A doll’s House) w