Many know the story of Bernard Pomerance’s play “The Elephant Man.” In 1880s London, John Merrick or, as some called him at the time, the Elephant Man, is a horribly deformed young man – a victim of rare skin and bone diseases. Under the care of celebrated physician Frederick Treves, Merrick slowly evolves from an object of pity to an urbane gentleman, desperate to be recognized as a man like any other.
The play by Pomerance came before the celebrated film version of Merrick’s story, but the film was written by Director David Lynch and two screenwriting partners instead of Pomerance. The play is widely considered a more interesting and electrifying achievement, due to its reliance on the actor playing Merrick to physically embody the various conditions and diseases that have ravaged his body. Rarely produced, due to the incredibly transformative demands on the title character actor, it provides astounding tour-de-force performances and is universally seen as a modern stage classic.
Interested actors are strongly encouraged to view director E.T. Wilford’s instructions and character descriptions prior to auditions. That information will be found here: www.garfieldcenter.
(on that page, click any of the dates shown to read the notes)
Directing “The Elephant Man” is E.T. Wilford, who has previously served as the Executive Director of The Groove Theatre in Cambridge. It runs in performance on weekends October 3rd through October 19th.
