NORACORE by Anna Banica *Premiere*

NORACORE by Anna Bănică
 
an Outland Theatre Berlin production directed by Bailey Hubbs
inspired by A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen
 
Cast: Anna Bănică, Lukas Blaukovitsch, Shivani Bajaj, Kristers Ozols, Andreea Bănică | Director: Bailey Hubbs | Assistant Director & Stage Manager: Ann Toma-Toader | Producer: Anna Bănică | Assistant Producer: Gréta Ciubuc-Szabó | Composer: Bailey Hubbs | Photographer: Giovanna Wolney
Duration: 90 minutes, no break
Performance languages: English, Romanian (with English subtitles)
 
About the show
Written as a modern retelling of Henrik Ibsen’s Doll House, the play follows Sabina, a 24-year-old Romanian Architecture graduate, who flees the oppressive expectations of her homeland only to confront the alienation and exploitation of Western liberalism. Struggling to find her footing, she shoulders financial and emotional burdens to support her boyfriend Adam, an idealistic but entitled actor chasing his big break, as Torvald Helmer in an independent production of “A Doll’s House”.

The play intertwines Sabina’s story with a vivid ensemble of characters: her judgmental mother Narcisa, her brash and carefree best friend Stephanie, and Adam’s toxic and opportunistic friend Oliver. Each relationship serves as a mirror reflecting Sabina’s struggle to reconcile societal expectations, personal agency, and survival in a neoliberal world. Stephanie’s unapologetic embrace of privilege and her endorsement of online sex work as an empowering way to earn fast money leads Sabina to make a decision rooted not in liberation, but desperation.
Layered with biting commentary on feminism, this fresh and original story critiques the commodification of bodies and identities under the guise of autonomy and choice and juxtaposes the promises of neoliberalism, asking whether true agency exists for those already marginalized. This is not just a retelling, but a reinvention—a reminder that Nora’s decision to walk out of her “doll’s house” is still a battle many women face today.

Trigger & content warnings: strobe lights, sexual assault, explicit sexual language, misogyny
 
About the company
Outland Theatre Berlin is a collective of professional, international artists based in Berlin, founded in 2023. Our cast and crew members immigrated to Germany within the past few years from countries such as Romania, Latvia, the United States of America, in order to get an education and pursue a career in the arts. Our company came together out of our need to feel represented within Berlin’s multicultural scene and English-speaking audiences and out of a simultaneous need to hold space for neurodivergent, FLINTA, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ artists and audiences.