The Pretenders Author:Henrik Ibsen The Pretenders is a dramatic play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The Pretenders was written in bursts during 1863, but Ibsen claims to have had sources and the idea back in 1858. It is a five-act play in prose set in the thirteenth-century. The play opened at the old Christiania Theatre on the 19th of January 1864. The plot revolves aroun... more »d the historical conflict between Norwegian King Hakon Hakonsson and his father-in-law; Earl Skule Bardsson. It has been commonly ascribed to the rivalry between Ibsen and Bjornstjerne Bjornson, who had succeeded Ibsen as director of the Norske Theater in 1857.« less