The Garfield Center for the Arts is bringing new life to The Elephant Man, Bernard Pomerance’s powerful drama about Joseph Merrick, a man with severe deformities who was long exploited as a sideshow attraction before finding dignity and recognition in Victorian society. First staged in 1977, the play went on to win the Tony Award for Best Play and became an international success for its stark theatrical device: Merrick is portrayed without prosthetics, relying on the actor’s physicality and the audience’s imagination to confront their own assumptions about beauty, cruelty, and compassion. Its revival at the Garfield underscores both the timelessness of the play’s themes and the theater’s commitment to presenting work that challenges as well as entertains.
The Spy recently caught up with the play’s director E.T. “Tally” Wilford and actor Ben VanNest who plays Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man.
“The Elephant Man” opens this Friday and runs Friday and Saturday nights at 8 PM, and Sundays at 2 PM, until October 19th. For tickets, visit www.garfieldcenter.org anytime, or call 410-810-2060 on Wednesdays, Thursdays or Fridays from 10 AM to 3 PM.
This video is approximately five minutes in length.
2 Responses
Very informative, thank you.
Talley has an “e” in his name-Talley.
Will correct, thanks.