The Elephant Man Comes To Canterbury

This week the critically acclaimed play inspired by the iconic David Lynch film, Elephant Man, comes to Canterbury after its successful launch at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The play follows Joesph Merrick, played by Daniel Chrisostomou the creator of the original Edinburgh Fringe set, as he utilises his horrible deformity to make a living as a freak show attraction. But once discovered by a surgeon from the London Hospital, Merrick is labelled as a medical marvel and becomes exposed to the nasty glares of the curious. So, as his story unfolds, he begins his path to acceptance and redemption but behind this morbid plot lies the real question the play poses which is, whose behaviour is more grotesque: the Elephant Man’s or the people who claim to have his best interests?

Set in the Victorian era, this adaptation comes from Fourth Monkey and is directed by Steven Green, who directed several pieces performed as part of the Marlowe 450 series last year. His vision of the Elephant Man uses avant garde costuming of a metal frame to depict Merrick’s deformity and shows an emotional distance between him and the rest of the cast. Designer Zahra Mansouri is the person behind this contemporary costuming and has won multiple awards for her work.

Elephant Man is at The Marlowe Studio at 8pm on Thursday 26 and Friday 27 February. Tickets, priced £12 (concessions available; booking fee applies) are from the Box Office on or marlowetheatre.com.