Why was Henrik Ibsen asked to write a new play each year in Bergen?

Henrik Ibsen was appointed as both director and playwright for a new theatre in Bergen at the age of 23. In this dual capacity, he was required to write a new play every year to help the theatre develop a "national drama".12

This role provided Ibsen with a significant opportunity to immerse himself in the world of drama, though it presented substantial challenges. At the time, the Norwegian stage was heavily influenced by the acting traditions and language of Denmark and the popular drawing-room style of French playwright Eugène Scribe. Ibsen struggled to reconcile these foreign influences with the goal of creating a uniquely Norwegian theatrical identity, often producing work that was both uncongenial to his own interests and poorly received by audiences. Despite these early difficulties, the experience allowed him to gain essential practical stage wisdom that would later inform his career.1