The Elephant Man, a play by Bernard Pomerance, at the New Rep Theatre in Watertown. Directed by Jim Petosa.
Haven't had a chance to write in this blog for a while. We saw The Elephant Man several weeks ago, and at this distance, I remember that the first half was absorbing. John Merrick's terrible disfiguring disease (I don't recall the exact name of it), and his awful attempts live a somewhat normal life in late 19th century England, made for good drama. Tim Spears, who plays Merrick, was terrific, as was Michael Kaye, who played the doctor Frederick Treves, who sheltered Merrick in London Hospital. It's a good story in itself, how Merrick permitted himself to be shown in a freak show, his ambiguous relationship with the freak show manager, his pathetic flight to London and to the care of Treves, where he becomes a favorite object of pity and support by London socialites and philanthropists.
The second act...I don't remember much (except for the Victorian-clothed actress Mrs. Kendal giving Merrick a thrill by displaying her breasts to him while on a picnic, her back to the audience). There was a lot of talk about motives. I think the overall question was about who should care for patients like Merrick, and who should pay for it. The playbill implied that this was related to our current debate about health care reform, and I see that. Must Merrick be an object of pity in order to receive donations from wealthy Londoners, and thus maintain a decent life? It's a long stretch from there to the current debate about requiring universal coverage by insurance companies, but I can see the connection, since the Health Care Reform Act (Obamacare) removes the necessity of anyone having to ask for help -- everyone has help in the form of health insurance.
No comments:
Post a Comment