The Ibsen phenomenon burst in Berlin and then spread to Europe. It began in 1887, with Ghosts, which was banned by the police (a perfect modernist/avant-garde occurrence). Closed performances were given and heavily oversubscribed. (The book, however, sold very well and had to be reprinted.51) An Ibsen banquet was held where the ‘dawn of a new age’ was declared. This was followed by an ‘Ibsen Week’, which saw The Lady from the Sea, The Wild Duck and A Doll’s House playing simultaneously. When Ghosts was finally allowed on to the open stage, later that year, it provoked a sensation and was an
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