I was recently invited to watch a rehearsal for ‘A Doll’s House’. I had no idea of the plot, and it wasn’t a full run through, more the Service Players working through certain scenes, so I didn’t really know what was going on.

All I knew after five minutes of being there was that I wanted to find out.

The play, written by Henrik Ibsen and modernised by Amy Herzog, takes place on Christmas Eve and revolves around Nora Helmer; a married woman struggling with maintaining her identity in her marriage and a patriarchal society.

The cast is made up of recognisable faces in the Manx theatre scene, all of high calibre, each bringing natural rapport with one another.

Saoirse Coyle-Carroll takes up the titular role of Nora. I’d seen her before in Orry Wilson’s ‘In Their Blood’ and taken note of her gravitas, which she brings in abundance to this new role.

In the mix of heightened emotions and drama, she has an enchanting stillness to her that balances the noise with a silence that speaks volumes.

Ewan Macfarlane plays Nora’s husband, Torvald. Another actor I’d seen previously, in Tony Eccles’ MacBeth. He uses his lines like daggers. His ability to display anger in such a dynamic way, slipping from madness into madness, was impressive.

Nora and Torvald were the main people I got to see during that particular rehearsal but making up the rest of the cast are Daniel Carroll-Cawley (also seen in ‘In Their Blood’) playing Nils, Kristene is played by Georgie King (also the show’s photographer), John Walker is Dr. Peter Rank, and Anne-Marie is played by Rachel Martin.

They’re accompanied by voice artists Morgan Smith and Tilly Martin.

Usually when I write a theatre review, it’s of the close to polished final product before opening night. This time, however, I enjoyed being a fly on the wall in the early stages of rehearsal.

I got to see director Daniel-Sebastian Gray working first-hand with the actors, giving them exercises that helped inject pace and energy into the lines, eking out emotion from his cast in ways that were quietly realistic and, in that realism, exceptionally powerful.

Here was a director who knew the material he was working with, his cast, and how to get the best out of both. It was wonderful watching him give feedback then seeing the scene transform into something grittier, rawer, more fluid, and more dynamic each time it was run.

By his side is assistant director Megan Hills, the ever-talented Lisa Smith takes up a role behind the scenes this time as the show’s lighting, marketing, and design director, while Vivian Toro takes care of the sound. (The audio, not the place).

A Doll’s House is running from the November 20 to 22 at Ballakermeen Studio Theatre. There’ll be no props and no set, so nowhere to hide - meaning the acting has to be first class, which, from what I’ve seen, is a guarantee.