The Elephant Man

Hobart Repertory Theatre’s theatrical production of The Elephant Man (by playwright Bernard Pomerance) was a dramatic play shown at the Playhouse Theatre on a traditional proscenium stage. Petr Divis revived the true story of Joseph Merrick, (referred to as John Merrick and played by Jon Lenthall) and joined hands with his performers to display a stellar feat of acting to the public. The idiom “Don’t judge a book by its cover “could hardly be more strikingly epitomised than in the revelation of John Merrick’s genuine humanity as he is saved from a life of humiliation in a Victorian freak show. As the play progresses, characters such as Dr Treves (Steven Jones) and Mrs Kendal (Leah Venettacci) are surprised to discover that lying beneath Merrick’s…

Once upon a time there was a king who lived a secluded life in his castle with three of his most faithful servants. On one occasion a traveling man stopped by and told these wonderful stories about a majestic beast that his people called an elephant. The king listened intently and became extremely curious, wanting to learn more. All three of the king's loyal servants happened to be blind, but he trusted them more than others. Since the king was unable to get away from the castle himself, he…

Acknowledging Your Dreams Within Bernard Pomerance’s play The Elephant Man, there lies a focus on how society affects an individual’s well-being or state of mind and what drives their dreams. In my opinion, it is society at times that alters what aspirations we have for ourselves. Sheri E. Metzger has written an essay titled “Overview of ‘The Elephant Man’” which examines “Merrick’s humanity” within the play. She states, “Normalcy is an illusion in other respects” (Metzger) and Merrick has this…

course has Treves think about him motives behind helping John. Did he take John under his wing to glorify himself in the medical world, or did he help him because he truly wanted John to feel like a human, like a friend. I am infinitely more interested in John Merrick than Frederick Treves. John constantly faces shallow criticism, ridicule, humiliation, persecution, and exploitation. The majority of the people who agree to meet with John seem to being so only to feel good about themselves or to…

In the Elephant Man, Anthony Hopkins, who plays Treeves, uses kindness to Merrick and emphasis, pause and confidence while talking to Bytes to add to relationships and mood, which greatly increases tension suspense making the movie significantly better and developing Treeves character by adding humanity. The first way Anthony Hopkins adds to Treeves character is by emphasizing specific words, and pausing, while talking to Mr Bytes. While discussing Merrick’s living arrangements Anthony says “It…

In “The Elephant Man” by Frederick Treves, Treves documents his interactions with Joseph Merrick from their first meeting in November 1884, to his subsequent death in April 1890. Although Treves introduces the Elephant Man as John Merrick, his given birth name was Joseph Merrick. Frederick Treves was a wealthy, accomplished surgeon who was made a Baronet, a member of the aristocracy, by King Edward VII after successfully performing a surgery on the King himself (Keith). Treves was also a…

The condition was first described by Dr. Samia Temtamy and John Rogers in 1976. The syndrome is named after the Greek goddess proteus who can change his shape. The most thought of person when people think of this condition is John Merrick, commonly known as the elephant man. The condition is rare only about a hundred people have it today. It is still something to worry about when you have a child. Proteus syndrome is the overgrowth of bones, skin, and tissue.…

John Hurt, The Elephant Man, John Hurt passed away , at 77 after a fight against pancreatic cancer The man in “The Elephant Man”, the addict Max in “Midnight Express”, the despicable Caligula in “I, Claudius”, the astronaut Kane in “Alien” and Garrick Olivander in “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” died with his boots on, in his home in Norfolk, with his recent paper as father Richard McSorley in “Jackie”, with two unreleased movies and an unfinished project about the life and…

The article, ‘Elephants are more human than we realize’, by John Martin is all about how behaviors of an elephant can align similarly to those of a human. Martin took his wife’s close affectionate encounter with a wild elephant in Kenya, and he noticed that the elephant wasn’t attacking, it was merely showing affection. From that day on, Martin has been studying the way that elephants can have emotions, just like us, humans. There are multiple sides of an elephant, such as children’s books like…

KOYASO LEKOLOI SHOT His first elephant in anger. The hundred or so that followed he killed for money. During nearly two decades as a poacher, bandit, thief, and alleged murderer Lekoloi killed more elephants than any other individual in northern Kenya until, tired of life on the run, he decided to give up poaching. I met Lekoloi by the side of a dry riverbed just outside Samburu National Reserve in Kenya’s arid, craggy north. We sat on the ground beneath a towering acacia tree to talk. The sand…