By Alex Suckow

Since th Find My Ex Girlfriend e beginning of the 20th century, strides have been made in equal rights for women. But that hasn’t always been the case.

UK’s Theater Department hopes to offer students the chance to see a play this week from a time where women’s rights were not taken seriously and see how one playwright exposed the issue to society.

The play, “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen, tells the story of Nora, a married woman who struggles with her place in society. It was written in the late 1800s and according to the Web site www.enotes.com, Ibsen used this play to help transition from romance to realistic playwriting.

Theater junior Chris Floyd who plays Nora’s husband, Torvald Helmer, described the plot.

“Torvald has just been made the manager of his bank and is looking to make some changes with the staff,” he said. “The changes he makes lead to a big scandal involving Nora. The play follows Nora through her difficult time dealing with the whirlwind of troubles that arise for her.”

The version chosen for UK’s presentation is the adaptation by Frank McGuinness.

Director Andrew Kimbrough said Ibsen’s work as literature and as a performance are different entirely; the characters can be quite funny and the drama during the crisis is fascinating.

Every director has their own creative vision and Kimbrough is no exception. He added personal touches for originality, including varying lighting techniques, on-stage seating and a working trap door.

Floyd describes Kimbrough as a “truly visionary” director.

To bring this vision to life, the characters needed actors that would do them justice. The actors auditioned the first week of school and have been rehearsing as part of a class every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

“It’s been a tremendous pleasure and honor to work on such a fantastic show with some truly talented actors as well as flat-out awesome people,” Floyd said.

Floyd said the cast has grown close over the course of rehearsals, and the play was chosen for a number of reasons.

“Given the author’s profound influence on twentieth century drama, we were long overdue in producing one of (Ibsen’s) plays,” Kimbrough said. “But most important, we believe the play still speaks to audiences today. Gender issues still loom in society today, as does joblessness and health concerns.”