About the Play:

The Elephant Man has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Female Monologues and scene-study showcases.

The Elephant Man is a full-length drama by Bernard Pomerance. The life of John Merrick, intensely disfigured by a rare disease, who was rescued from a life as a carnival freak by a kindly doctor and patronized by actresses and royalty, is dramatized by Bernard Pomerance in his Tony Award-winning masterpiece, The Elephant Man.

The Elephant Man is based on the life of John Merrick, who lived in London during the latter part of the 19th-century. A horribly deformed young man – victim of rare skin and bone disease called Proteus Syndrome – he becomes the star freak attraction of a travelling circus show where he is used, abused, and exploited. Found abandoned and helpless, he is admitted to a London hospital. The celebrated young physician Frederick Treves takes Merrick under his care. Merrick is invited to to live the rest of his days learning to be a gentleman and adapt to society in the prestigious Whitechapel Hospital. There he finds his own humanity in art and the people around him. He is introduced to London society and slowly evolves from an object of pity to an urbane and witty favourite of the aristocracy and literati, only to be denied his ultimate dream – to become a man like any other. The Elephant Man is a classic true-life tale and heart wrenching story that depicts the best and the worst of humanity. The performer playing Merrick wears no makeup, suggesting the character's contorted physicality only through body manipulation.

The Elephant Man premiered in 1977 at the Hampstead Theatre in London. It had pre-Broadway engagement in 1979 at The Theatre at St. Peter's in New York City, transferred to the Booth Theatre, ran for more than two years on Broadway, and went on to win the Tony for Best Play. It has been performed in regional repertory, middle school, high school, college, and community theatre productions.

Cast: 2 female, 6 male

What people say:

"A giant of a play." — New York Post

"An enthralling and luminous play. Haunting, splendid...." — The New York Times

"The Elephant Man is a moving drama. Lofted on poetic wings, it nests on the human heart." — Time Magazine

"Ravishing theatre. Bernard Pomerance's writing is beautifully realized in all respects." — New York Daily News

"The Elephant Man is great. A giant play. Wonderful, moving and purely theatrical." — New York Post

About the Playwright:

Bernard Pomerance (1940-2017) was an American playwright and poet. Born in Brooklyn, he studied at the University of Chicago before moving to London in his late 20s. His biggest success, The Elephant Man, became the talk of Broadway and was the 1979 Tony Award winner for best play.