An Enemy of the People

Written in 1882, Henrik Ibsen's AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE still rings disturbingly true: the story of a altruistic man undermined by people concerned with profit. Dr. Stockmann has discovered serious contamination in the town's new bathing complex, an enterprise which had promised to revitalize the town economy. Unwilling to undertake the expense of correction, however, the town mayor — his own brother — accuses Stockmann of fabricating the story to enrich himself, and manages to turn most of the town's population against the doctor and his family. Ibsen examines the moral dilemmas inherent in whistleblowing, as well as the sometimes ephemeral nature of truth itself. Ray Renati directs this classic, in a recent adaptation by Rebecca Lenkiewicz.