In 1882 Henrik Ibsen’s play An Enemy of the People first premiered, set against the backdrop of a community grappling with economic and environmental concerns. This September, South Australian theatre company Famous Last Words will premiere their new adaptation of this thought-provoking work at Slingsby’s Hall of Possibility.
This adaptation of Enemy of the People was written and directed by James Watson. A NIDA and Flinders graduate, James is an award-winning playwright, director, and producer. Learning his craft directly from shadowing directors Ivo Van Hove and Mitchell Butel, James’ approach to working with actors fosters collaboration, experimentation, and a deep commitment to psychological truth. In 2022 he launched the independent theatre company Famous Last Words, where he remains Co-Creative Director.
James spoke to Glam Adelaide about Enemy of the People, the process he went through to re-write and adapt the work as well as what captivates him about theatre and theatre-making that keeps drawing him back to it.
“Ultimately, it’s because it’s collaborative both as a spectator and as a maker. My first craft was writing but I think I’m drawn to making theatre because writing can be such a solo activity sometimes. I found that when I was writing scripts, I felt like I needed to finish the job on my own without other people. Lots of my earliest childhood memories are of going to the theatre and experiencing things with people. I think that’s what keeps it energetic and what makes theatre and live performance crucial to our culture.”
We asked James what it is about Ibsen’s original text of Enemy of the People that drew him to the work.
“Ibsen, who wrote Enemy of the People, is the second most produced playwright in the world after Shakespeare. In all of his texts there’s something that is clearly still touching us and it’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about recently. Whether it’s Enemy, A Doll’s House or Hedda Gabler, his works were written in a time where there was this new class of people—urban professionals for example—and they’re all suddenly finding there are new rules but also their positions are very precarious. With the original text of Enemy of the People, there’s this really delicious sense that this is actually a community right on a knife’s edge and caught between a lot of very material problems. Ibsen’s works are so universal that you can take them anywhere. I found out recently the film Jaws is based on Enemy of the People and I re-watched that the other day and could clearly see where they lifted the play’s themes for the movie. Instead of polluted water, there’s a shark causing issues.”
When his discovery threatens a coastal town’s main source of income, Doctor Thomas Stockman finds himself caught in a battle between corporate interests and public safety. Fake news and misinformation abound when Thomas’ older sibling, the local mayor, becomes determined to discredit his findings.
This fresh modernisation of Ibsen’s classic responds directly to ongoing political and environmental debates here in Adelaide, inviting the audience into the play and asking what is to be done about the impending crisis. With real-time debates, small-town gossip, and a few water balloons, Enemy of the People urgently asks how easy it is to be a spectator when the stakes are this high.
James shared with us the process he went through to adapt the original text for this new production.
“This is the third adapted classic that Famous Last Words has done. We did Miss Julie in 2023 and Uncle Vanya earlier this year. I find the process really interesting. The great thing about adapting a classic is you have a terrific safety net to fall back on – the original text itself. If things aren’t working, you can go back to it. But it also gives you something to jump off of. You have the ability as well to respond to things in the text, especially gender roles of the time the works were originally written. It gives you a chance to update themes.
“It starts with me making a very broad outline, act by act, of what’s going on and then whittling down the key characters. I look at who the key players are and what they look like now. I also spent time thinking about what the different political parties of each of the characters would be. For example, the mayor in the town would have connections to the Nationals Party, and you know how they’ve fallen out with the coalition and they’ve been undermined by the sudden rise in One Nation. So I was able to play with the dynamics between the characters and their individual political views. From there I was able to write themes based on the dynamics and then test them on the floor with the cast. I was doing some scene rewrites the other day because things just didn’t connect with how actors were presenting a scene. Being able to rewrite as you go like that is such a powerful way of ironing out issues that arise when you physically see and hear something get played out. It makes the final process very collaborative.”
Enemy of the People stars Famous Last Words ensemble members James Starbuck, Emelia Williams, Kate Owen, and Virginia Blackwell alongside newcomers Bonet Fimeri and Eliza Barnes.
“It’s a really politically engaged work, but I don’t think it’s my job to tell people what they should think politically. We’ve got a lot of these sorts of discussions already, with the algal bloom and how we respond to that, as well as the issues around the Parklands and the role of government versus economic interests versus environmental arguments and where we sit in that. So I think Adelaide audiences will really relate to what’s going on with these characters in the show. The big centrepiece of the show is a town hall meeting and there’s an opportunity for audience members to participate. I hope the production really prompts a lot of conversation. It’s a very thought-provoking work.”
Enemy of the People runs between Thursday 17th September and Saturday 26th September at Slingsby’s Hall of Possibility.
Tickets on sale now.
Enemy of the People (After Ibsen)
Preview – Thursday 17th September
Season – Friday 18th – Saturday 26th September
Post-show Q&A on Sunday 20th September
Slingsby’s Hall of Possibility – 96 Glen Osmond Rd, Parkside
https://events.humanitix.com/enemy-of-the-people-flw
Photo credit: Virginia Blackwell
