“My mouth is slurred and I talk out of the right side of my mouth and the right arm is very large so the shoulder goes very high and the fin hand kind of stays to my chest all the time,” Spears said. The actor says it just happens when he reads lines from The Elephant Man. As he speaks, his right hand starts curling up into his rib cage. Spears is a good-looking guy with shaggy brown hair. The New Repertory Theatre’s decision not to alter Spears’ face or body would please playwright Bernard Pomerance, because he suggested it in his 1977 script. “Some of it isn’t as hard as it may be for others, but by the end of having one eye closed and your jaw half shut - after doing that for two hours - I’m ready for a nap and a drink.” “I’m blessed with a rubber-like face to begin with,” Spears said. It makes you wonder how actor Tim Spears will transform himself into this tragic, gruesome character for the New Repertory Theatre’s production without the help of makeup or prosthetics. Hurt’s costume is intense and was actually fashioned from a cast of the body of Joseph Merrick, the real Elephant Man, who is called John Merrick in the play. One look at the Elephant Man’s disfigured face and hunched, lumpy torso makes people recoil. John Hurt’s portrayal of the Elephant Man in David Lynch’s 1980 film is horrifying, heartbreaking and indelible. For more information, visit or Facebook Joseph Merrick, Victorian England’s famous “Elephant Man,” is shown in a photo from the Radiological Society of North America. To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at 212.279.4200 or visit. Performance schedule is Tuesday at 7:30pm Wednesday-Friday at 8:30pm Saturday at 2:30pm and 8:30pm and Sunday at 3:30pm and 7:30pm. Tickets are $25 (17.50 for 59E59 Members). (Proteus Theatre Company, Basingstoke's production of Merrick, The Elephant Man continues in Brits Off Broadway at 59E59 Theaters through Sunday, December 13th.
True, an artistically adventurous audience will intellectually appreciate such an effect, but I imagine this same audience might be a bit put-off by its pretension. Even Jaffe himself appears unable to reconcile this object's presence onstage. An ideal example to illustrate this point is the swing suspended centerstage. Although clever in concept, it appears as if the function of some of the show's more abstract elements is more to highlight the wit of the creative team rather than illuminate the textually dramatic points of interest. Whether it is a question of the script's structure or the guidance of the director, the production itself comes across as contrived, indulgent and excessive. Unfortunately, exceptional acting does not an extraordinary show make. Jaffe appears to embrace the daunting task of portraying a severely disfigured individual sans visible accouterments and in doing so, surprises the audience with his sincere and deceptively effortless characterization of Joseph Merrick. To achieve such a level of believability without the benefits of elaborate costumes and make-up is remarkable. Clearly supported by his clean stage technique and careful attention to detail, Jaffe moves seamlessly between characters, endowing each with individual behaviors and audibly distinguishable voices.
In Proteus Theatre Company, Basingstoke's Merrick, The Elephant Man, conceived and created by director Mary Swan and actor Saul Jaffe, Merrick's struggle is showcased by implementing the structure of the one-man (side) show, with Jaffe adopting the personas of the significants in Merrick's life including his clinical yet empathetic doctor, Frederick Treves (later knighted for his study of Merrick), Merrick's unforgivably intolerant stepmother, and others including Merrick himself.Īctor Saul Jaffe's ability to multi-task is astounding. This instant, a beacon of hope the next, a symbol of endless suffering. This day, a normal everyday Joe looking for love and prosperity and next week, an animal so frightening, he is placed in a cage and observed from afar. One moment, he was a hero the next a monster. Throughout his short life, Merrick enjoyed, or rather endured, the split personality of the spectating public. Afflicted with a condition first diagnosed as elephantiasis and later debated as neurofibromatosis, Merrick carried the weight of his disease publicly, his spine curving awkwardly to compensate for the heaviness of his head a curvature which in turn forced him into a limping gait.
Location: 59E59 Theaters (Brits Off Broadway)īOTTOM LINE: An elephant (man) never forgets (great acting).īeginning his early adult life as a popular side show performer and later, becoming one of medical history's most fascinating case studies, Joseph Merrick, or John Merrick, The Elephant Man, became Victorian England's most unlikely of celebrities.
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