When Dr Stockmann discovers that the waters of a new public spa are toxic, he expects gratitude and glory. But his revelation makes him the most hated man in town. How far will a man go to stand up for the truth?

Penned in 1882, En Folkefiende is often considered to be Ibsen’s most comic play. Telling the tale of warring brothers – one the town’s mayor, one an idealistic scientist – it reveals the tensions and contradictions between public and private life.

Through the character of Dr Stockmann, Ibsen confronts the potential of unbridled idealism to slide into self-delusion, and in Mayor Stockmann how burning ambition and opportunism corrupts the political machine. With such contemporary concerns it remains as fresh and relevant today as when it was first written.