The evening will be particularly remembered by me for the fine acting of Juliet Stevenson as well as the engaging staging and set. We are in a hospital where a priest is refused admission to the room where a child is dying from sepsis caused by a botched self-administered abortion. The doctor - played by Stevenson - bases the refusal on not wishing to distress the child by alerting her to her impending death. She finds out anyway and dies in great distress - off stage.
The play looks at the 'shitstorm' that ensues from this action. Based on the play Professor Bernhardi by Arthur Schnitzler, this modern version shows how Ruth, the jewish doctor, rapidly becomes engulfed by an online petition and social media frenzy with the mob turning against her for her decision. She finds herself holed up at the home she shares with her lesbian partner and with an adolescent girl, excellently played by Ria Zmitrowicz. Outside the crowd are baying and slaughtering their cat.
The play is so full of action that it feels quite exhausting to try and note down all that it covered and captured. Most clear was the organisational politics that quickly asserted themselves, with members of Ruth's team and others quickly using the events to settle scores and gain advantages. Indeed, the whole turn of events, we are told, was caused by a disloyal nurse telling the child she was dying. Ruth is streets ahead of the others in terms of professional brilliance and heads up a unit looking to cure dementia. Her Elizabeth Institute is reliant on private funding and about to acquire its own building. All this comes crashing apart as the storm unfolds.
Under the direction of Robert Icke, time passes quickly for us watching this production. All too soon, we are at the point where Ruth is suspended from her post and 'tried' on television. At this point, Stevenson's anguish looked so real that I was forced to wonder how she could sustain the performance over the six week run of the play.
Really, an excellent evening and one which not surprisingly garnered great reviews.
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