This post is from Evan Smythe.
Shakespeare’s Globe presents the world premiere of
Bedlam
5 September – 1 October 2010
Shakespeare’s Globe presents the world premiere of Nell Leyshon’s new play Bedlam, between 5 September and 1 October 2010. This production marks the Globe’s first ever staging of a known female playwright, at either old or new incarnations of the theatre, and continues Dominic Dromgoole’s vision for new writing at the Globe. Nell Leyshon won the Evening Standard Most Promising Playwright Award for Comfort Me With Apples hit earlier this year at Southwark Playhouse. Nell Leyshon presents a fictional portrayal of a London hospital for the insane, and has been working closely with the Bethlem Royal Hospital to get a glimpse of life both then and now. Bedlam is set in 18th-century London against an anarchic backdrop of binge drinkers, gin sellers and ballad singers. Under the supervision of the prejudiced Dr Carew and his imbecile son, Bedlam’s philosophy lies in containing rather than curing patients. But with the arrival of a lovely country girl, May, and the appointment of a more enlightened governor, Carew’s inhuman regime starts to crumble, along with his own sanity. Noisy and chaotic, Bedlam contains dance and song with scenes of lust, violence and absurd comedy.
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