{"id":66591,"date":"2023-09-04T03:39:09","date_gmt":"2023-09-04T03:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newcelebworld.com\/?p=66591"},"modified":"2023-09-04T03:39:09","modified_gmt":"2023-09-04T03:39:09","slug":"elephant-man-musical-hits-all-the-wrong-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newcelebworld.com\/lifestyle\/elephant-man-musical-hits-all-the-wrong-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"Elephant Man musical hits all the wrong notes"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Marvellous Elephant Man The Musical<\/strong>
September 4
<\/strong>Until October 1
Spiegeltent Festival Garden, Moore Park<\/strong>
\u2605\u2605<\/p>\n

Will we never let Joseph Merrick rest? His story \u2013 born in Britain in the 1860s, Merrick was nicknamed \u201cthe Elephant Man\u201d due to his physical disabilities \u2013 has remained one of public fascination. His short life was split between workhouses, \u201cfreak\u201d shows, and the Royal London Hospital, and his skeleton remains on private display.<\/p>\n

In contemporary times, we\u2019ve begun to grapple with our collective legacy of silencing or exploiting disabled voices in art. In 2016, actor Bradley Cooper faced controversy for \u201ccripping up\u201d (when an able-bodied actor plays a disabled character) to play Merrick. A year later, Melbourne\u2019s Malthouse tried a fresh approach to the story with disabled actor Daniel Monks as Merrick \u2013 a breath of progress.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Marvellous Elephant Man features bright, direct tunes.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Dominic Lorrimer<\/cite><\/p>\n

Now, though, there\u2019s The Marvellous Elephant Man the Musical<\/em>, which takes sensitivity and boots it out the door in favour of an irreverent, prurient and indiscriminately offensive comedy that is far more interested in punchlines than dignity.<\/p>\n

Granted, Merrick (Ben Clark) is positioned as something of a romantic hero; he falls for a nurse named Hope (Annelise Hall). Neither is given much of an inner life (Merrick tells us he isn\u2019t an animal but rarely has the chance to tell us more about himself; Hope just wants to marry someone she loves).<\/p>\n

Treves (Kanen Breen), Merrick\u2019s doctor, is so panto-villainous the audience began to boo him on opening night. (You would, too, after the groan-worthy refrain \u201cyou might not think it\u2019s relevant\/but he was sired by an elephant\u201d).<\/p>\n

Though the show, co-directed by Chris H. F. Mitchell and Guy Masterson, does attempt empathy for Merrick, it frequently undermines itself by being unable to resist a lowest common denominator joke about elephants \u2013 referencing tusks, fear of mice, or eating plants.<\/p>\n

It also fetishises Merrick\u2019s genitals, an old ableist trope, and turns the women into oversexualised objects. Empathy, it seems, can only go so far.<\/p>\n

While the broadly performed and bawdy musical (with bright, direct tunes and hacky lyrics by Sarah and Jayan Nandagopan and Marc Lucchesi) earned raucous bouts of laughter on opening night from a good portion of the audience, the once-packed Spiegeltent was noticeably emptier after interval, with walkouts continuing through the second act.<\/p>\n

Many members of the show\u2019s creative team have lived experience with disability, and in a fact sheet explain they are processing their experiences of ableism, sexism, and racism through jokes. The problem is that The Marvellous Elephant Man<\/em> leaves audiences on the other side of the joke. Every time they use Merrick as a punchline, it hurts.<\/p>\n

The Booklist is a weekly newsletter for book lovers from books editor Jason Steger. <\/i><\/b>Get it delivered every Friday<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. The Marvellous Elephant Man The MusicalSeptember 4Until October 1Spiegeltent Festival Garden, Moore Park\u2605\u2605 Will we never let Joseph Merrick rest? 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