Every Elephant Man

The Shefield Theatre brings The Elephant Man to Hackney Empire in a new, haunting presentation about the true story of Joseph (John) Merrick, a heavily disfigured man dealing with the paradoxes of society's treatment towards his condition.

Without the luxury of prosthetics that the 1980 BAFTA Award-winning film enjoyed, the play, directed by Ellie Jones, relies on the audience's imagination to engage them in this heartbreaking tale of pain and compassion, science and religion, and the illusions we often rely on to avoid holding a mirror to our own lives.

Abandoned as a child by his own mother and heavily abused in a workhouse, Merrick worked for a while as a sideshow attraction. He is then taken under the wing of a conniving business man who is only interested in flaunting Merrick as a freak show to make money. “See mother nature uncorsetted and in malignant rage,” he touts.

Their act, however, is driven away by society, deemed inhuman and indecent, and after being kicked out of the UK and Belgium, his “business partner” quickly robs and abandons the helpless Merrick.

Joe Duttine, only using his body and voice to convey the handicapping disfigurement of Merrick, movingly and convincingly portrays a kind-hearted, but alienated man. In one scene, where images of what Merrick should look like flash across the back wall in black and white, Duttine contorts his body with every prodding comment by Dr. Treves, a physician who examined Merrick in medical school.

While Merrick is in a London jail, the guards contact Dr. Treves, whose card was in Merrick's coat pocket from their previous meeting. With Treves' help and compassion, Merrick soon gains a home at the reputable London Hospital and a new friend. With additional funding, Treves is able to house Merrick indefinitely, and he encourages Merrick to call this his home for as long as he likes.

Walking around the stage to express distance or the passage of time, the actors effectively use the small stage space.