In the Next Room - (or The Vibrator Play)

Synopsis

In a spa town in New York in the late 19th century enthusiasm for the new electric light bulb is spreading through the homes of the well-to-do citizens. Young Dr Givings is obsessed with the marvels of technology and has been working with a handy new device, a strange electric powered box set up in his operating theatre to treat female hysteria. Dr Givings' first patient emerges from her first session beaming and keen to return for further treatment. But while the good doctor is blithely administering to his patients, his wife, Catherine, a new mother, is left feeling lonely and left out and forced to take matters into her own hands.

Our Review:

Shane Morgan - 31 May 2012

Very early in the second half, Leo Irving, patient of Dr. Givings, explains to Mrs. Givings his philosophy on art: “I love incomplete paintings – why do painters always insist on finishing paintings? Life is not like that”. In one complete, very beautifully crafted scene, writer Sarah Ruhl sums up what this play is for her. It’s about longing and the sense that something significant is missing.

To round off director Lawrence Boswell’s second season at the helm of Bath’s Ustinov Studio, his final contemporary American play is a tease in itself. Designed to tickle the audiences fancy before even walking into the theatre, The Vibrator Play wins hands down for the title of most engaging name of the season. What it also does is introduce a whole new audience to a stylish and dynamic writer.

Ruhl’s central characters are the Givings. Dr. and wife lead a very traditional Victorian life in 1880’s America. Separate rooms, turning ones back when getting changed and secret...

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