Tag Archives: The Elephant Man

Drawing: The Elephant Man at Theatre Royal Haymarket

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The Tony-nominated Broadway production of Bernard Pomerance’s The Elephant Man with Bradley Cooper, Alessandro Nivola and Patricia Clarkson ended its three-month West End run at London’s Theatre Royal, Haymarket on Saturday.

Based on the real life of the severely deformed Joseph Merrick (Bradley), it tells the story of renowned physician Frederick Treves ( Alessandro) who rescues him from a travelling freak show to live his short life in the safe and secure environs of a London hospital.  While there he becomes friends with the beautiful actress Mrs kendal (Patricia) who is deeply touched by his pure and genuine soul.

I had drawn individual sketches of all three leads, which they signed for me in the opening week. I also did this composite sketch of them, which I wasn’t going to bother getting signed…but at the last minute, well the final day, I thought, why not? There are essentially three chances to catch the cast on a Saturday-going in,coming out after the matinee, coming out after the evening performance. Technically four, if you count them returning from the matinee exit. Right, that sorted, I aimed for after the matinee. Only Alessandro appeared and, as usual was extremely charming and complimentary about the drawing and signed. I asked him what he was doing next, he said a film with Robert De Niro…”A bit of a come down then?,” I quipped…a questionable attempt at humour. He laughed! Such a polite man. The very efficient stage manager let the crowd know that Bradley and Patricia would not be coming out, so that saved waiting time. Since I had one, I was now obliged to get the other two to complete the task. When I returned after the final performance, the barriers were packed, six deep, which made that task a little more tricky. My many years of stalking experience..I stop short of calling it prowess..enabled me to eventually secure a spot three deep, amongst a number of gushing Bradleybabes, (sorry, I’m not familiar with what a collective of his adoring female public are called ) ready to get selfies…not siggys. The man himself  eventually appeared and as he had done for the entire run ,”did the line’. While the gazillion selfies were being taken he spotted my sketch which I was trying to hold in a strategic position and not get in the way of anyone’s photograph and reached over for it. I asked him to dedicate it ‘To Mark” and he said “got it…thanks”. After he left the throng subsided, so it was much easier to get Patricia, who said she had loved her time in London..oh and the drawing.

Bradley Cooper as The Elephant Man

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Bradley Cooper returns to the role of disfigured London celebrity Joseph Merrick – better known as The Elephant Man for a three month run on the West End.

Although The Elephant Man is expressionistic in style, it is based on true historical events. Joseph Merrick (referred to as “John” in the play) suffered from a condition that no one had properly recognised. After being toured around the UK and Europe under the not-too-flattering title, he is rescued by surgeon Frederick Treves who studied him at the London Hospital in White Chapel up until Merrick’s death in 1890.

The play, written by Bernard Pomerance, premiered at the Booth Theater on Broadway in April 1979 and returned there for a much-lauded revival last winter. It has garnered 4 Tony Award nominations, including one for Bradley for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play. There are also nods for fellow leads, Patricia Clarkson and Alessandro Nivola and for Best Rvival.

As the script instructs, Bradley declines make up and prosthetics. Instead he contorts his body and his face, adding layers of speech as he gulps and gasps to communicate through mishappen lips.

Director Scott Ellis stages an anatomy lesson with Treves addressing his students in front of a full length photograph of the near-naked Merrick and Bradley performs a mimed illustration of the lecture.

In her Variety review, Marilyn Stasio writes : “as Nivola’s Treves dispassionately drones on about his subject’s twisted limbs and misshapen torso, Cooper stands stock still in a cone of light and silently contorts his own perfect body into an approximation of each deformity. The piece de résistance is the depiction of the wide slobbering aperture that is Merrick’s mouth. Shaping his own mouth into a fleshy oval, the thesp gives expressive voice to the sensitive and intelligent human being imprisoned in his own body. It’s a stunning  performance, deeply felt and very moving”.

Bradley returened to normal to greet fans at the stage door barriers on opening night.

Drawing: Alessandro Nivola in The Elephant Man

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Following a highly acclaimed, record breaking run on Broadway, Scott Ellis’ production of Bernard Pomerance’s historical tale The Elephant Man transferred to London’s theatre Royal Haymarket for a 1 2 week season.

The US cast, led by Bradley Cooper, Patricia Clarkson and Alessandro Nivola have all joined the West End run. The play is based on the short life of severely deformed Joseph Merrick in Victorian London.

Alessandro plays the celebrated surgeon Dr Frederick Treves who saves Merrick form living in freak shows and takes him to a private London hospital for ‘rehabilitation’.

“In this version it is Treves to whom we look for emotional complexity. And Nivola delivers it beautifully,” writes Ben Brantley in the New York Times.

Alessandro, Bradley and Patricia have all all been nominated for Tony Awards in next month’s ceremony. I met Alessandro as he was tanking a break from final rehearsal at the Theatre Royal.

He saw the sketch and said “heeeeeeyyyy… nice sketch”. I asked him if they were goring back to New York for the Tony Awards which are on Sunday 7 June and he said they we were.

Patricia Clarkson in The Elephant Man

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Patricia Clarkson The Elephant Man

The 2014 Broadway revival of THE ELEPHANT MAN opened at the Booth Theatre for a 13 week run with Bradley Cooper in the title role, transferring to London’s  Theatre Royal Haymarket this year until early August. The production also featured Patricia Clarkson and Alessandro Nivola also in the lead roles. All three have received Tony nominations for next month’s  Awards ceremony.

Written by American playwright Bernard Pomerance  in 1977, it is based on the real-life story of Joseph (‘John’ in the play) Merrick, a grotesquely deformed young man, who was a freak show attraction in the 19th Century. He is rescued from the squalor by Frederick Treves, a renowned surgeon who offers him shelter and comfort for his short life in a private London hospital.

Patricia plays the high-society English actress Madge Kendal,  who befriends Merrick, helping him to embrace Victorian society before his ailments defeat him. In his Broadway review for The Hollywood Reporter David Rooney wrote about Patricia: “Her tender performance is an exquisite rendering of artful layers, at its most poignant in a scene in which she shows that her humanity trumps her coded sense of property. There’s a lovely, understated erotic tension in her interactions with both Merrick and Treves.”

Patricia’s impressive credentials have made her a very much demand character actor, including diverse roles in THE GREEN MILE (1999), THE STATION AGENT (2003), VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA (2009) and PIECES OF APRIL (2003) for which she received an Oscar and a Golden Globe nomination. On the small screen she won two Emmy Awards for her recurring guest role as the free-spirited  Sarah O’Connor in the TV series SIX FEET UNDER.

I meet Patricia at the Theatre Royal Haymarket’s stage door after the opening performance  on 19 May, where she signed and dedicated my sketch.