'Basingstoke should be paying more attention to the sizzling creativity and original work under its nose in the shape of Proteus Theatre Company' Basingstoke Gazette on The Elephant Man 2009
"Proteus Theatre Company are a fantastic example of Basingstoke's wealth of local talent" Destination Basingstoke on The Elephant Man 2009
‘A technical and artistic masterpiece' The Stage on Proteus' Spring 2007 tour The Elephant Man
"Best of British from Basingstoke"
- The Independent
Merrick the Elephant Man
November 24th - December 13th 2009
59E59 Theater To purchase tickets for the Brits Off Broadway Festival click here
A remarkable journey by a remarkable man.......
Devised & Written by Mary Swan & Saul Jaffé Performed by Saul Jaffé Directed By Mary Swan Designed By Sam Pine Music By Paul Wild
They always say that the most remarkable stories are the true ones, and the story of Joseph Carey Merrick, ‘Merrick the Elephant Man’ is certainly that. Like most stories that everyone thinks they know, a little scratching of the surface reveals many more twists and turns. The heroes and villains are revealed as complex, compassionate, selfish and flawed – real people in fact, which is exactly what they were.
Merrick’s story continues to fascinate long after his death, and I think we are drawn to him because he constantly makes us re-evaluate our own attitudes. He became the darling of Victorian society, a major celebrity and a visit to his rooms at The Royal London Hospital for tea became a ‘must do’ for any self respecting ‘A’ lister at the time. Our current obsession with celebrity and ‘reality’ stars makes it quite possible that Joseph Merrick would be gracing the pages of ‘Hello’ magazine if he lived amongst us now.
It is now thought that Merrick suffered from ‘Proteus Syndrome’ – a condition ironically discovered and named in the same year that this theatre company was given the name of the shape-shifting God. There are children born with conditions like Proteus every day, and it is only with early diagnosis that the correct treatment can be given, and proper research undertaken. This is why our partnership with Shire, a pharmaceutical company whose work includes developing and researching treatments for devastating conditions in children is so pertinent.
It has been a strange and wonderful journey from the inception and creation of this show, through two national tours, a run at the Edinburgh Festival, a performance for Destination Basingstoke Perk Cardholders, a performance at Shakespeare's Globe and our forthcoming trip to the ‘Brits off Broadway Festival’ in New York. My daughter Sophia was just six months old when Saul and I began creating the piece – she turned three last week! It doesn’t seem that long, and although Saul, myself and the company have worked on many other projects over these three years, somehow we hadn’t finished telling Joseph’s story: he kept drawing us back for one more night.
I have to thank Saul Jaffe for being the extraordinary performer that he is, for his commitment to this piece, and for his integrity and sheer hard graft over the past three years. I have often said it and will say it again, this kind of work cannot be created and performed by just any actor, it takes real intelligence, skill and passion to bring such a sensitive subject to life.
As Tom Norman says ‘It’s not the show itself, it’s the tale you tell.’ So thank you, Joseph, for letting us tell your tale.
Mary Swan, October 2009.
The thing about being brave is that it is not a one off, it’s an attitude…
Proteus would very much like to thank Shire for generously supporting our run of ‘Merrick the Elephant Man’ in New York.
Shire is a global biopharmaceutical company employing around 4,000 people worldwide. It is a UK success story, having started business in Overton, near Basingstoke, just over 20 years ago. Now it’s one of the UK’s top 100 companies with offices around the world including substantial operations on the East Coast of America in Philadelphia and Boston. The focus for the company is on the development of a range of treatments for specialist medical conditions, including medicines for rare diseases.
The Synergy between Proteus and Shire is clear. We are both deeply connected to the locality with a similar desire to connect with, respond to and improve communities. Shire’s purpose is to enable people with life-altering conditions to lead better lives. Joseph Merrick, The Elephant Man, suffered from a condition, now classified as “Proteus Syndrome”. It is a little understood, extremely rare and variable condition, the cause of which is still unknown. Shire is keen to promote awareness of these rare diseases in order to ensure early and effective diagnosis of rare conditions.These rare diseases can affect as few as several thousand people worldwide who, without Shire’s efforts, would have no choice of treatment.
Without Shire’s sponsorship we would simply not be able to take this highly acclaimed, innovative piece of theatre made in Basingstoke to New York. In times like this it takes a brave sponsor to move fast and help seize this unique opportunity, but…
