An interesting play with so much potential, which unfortunately remains unfulfilled.
The Elephant Song is essentially a 75’ power-play between a psychiatrist, a nurse and a young patient. The small space of the Park90 auditorium is perfect for a play like this, creating a feeling of detached intimacy that is characteristic of these intimate yet professional relationships.
The audience is arguably the 4th character of this play, the silent observers who almost act as psychoanalysts themselves. In the same way Dr. Greenberg tries to figure out young Michael’s motives and behaviours, we are in turn, unbeknownst to them, trying to decipher theirs.
The simple, yet incredibly effective set design of Ian Nicholas, gives us all the clues we need about when and where the play is. The Rorschach-esque ink blot painting on the wall, the stress ball on the desk, the framed certificate and the phrenology head sculpture immediately reveal to us that this is the office of a mental health professional. The Christmas tree on the desk does not only inform us of the season, but it plays on most people’s conditioned response to any Christmas decorations, putting the audience members in a positive mood, which, in theory, should make the tragic events that unfold throughout the play even more impactful.
Unfortunately, however, this production as a whole, fails to have a big impact. The execution of the piece as well as the original material play a part in this. All three members of the cast give honest, grounded performances. Their energies bounce off each other, really listening and responding to one another, experiencing everything as if for the first time. But the layers I was hoping to discover in these characters and their relationships never revealed themselves.
I wanted to see more of the journey that Dr. Greenberg goes on, more of his struggle between staying and going and of how his interaction with Michael changes him. I craved a deeper look into Nurse Peterson and Michael’s relationship and how they feel rather than what they know about each other. Gwithian Evans gives a very detailed and respectful performance as Michael (great and effortless physicality) but again, this performance fails to swing too far on either side of the emotional pendulum.
Nevertheless, all three actors are undoubtedly captivating and manage to maintain our interest throughout the play.
The ending however was what had me shaking my head (spoilers ahead!). While the writer gives us a very exciting plot twist when Michael’s allergy is revealed and he goes into anaphylactic shock (meaning his throat closes up and he stops breathing), this excitement is short-lived. Being myself a trained nurse, it was impossible to ignore the medical inaccuracies in the way this situation was written and portrayed.
Psychiatric nurses deal with suicide attempts on a regular basis and there are protocols and procedures in place, which the writer seems to know nothing about or chooses to ignore for the sake of melodrama. Similarly, the portrayal of anaphylactic shock on stage lacks crucial elements (most notably the difficulty in breathing) thus compromising the believability of the scene. Nurse Peterson, a trained professional, is left in the room helplessly cradling young Michael and asking him to breathe(!), a delivery that resembles more a medical instruction than an exclamation of sheer desperation which would have maybe made more sense, at least dramatically.
It was quite disappointing to witness once again this inaccurate and hurtful stereotype of the female nurse who has no real skills of her own but is there to just follow the male doctor’s orders and hold the patient’s hand as they die. Nevertheless, this is an interesting play which will definitely spark conversation around many different subjects and is a great choice for budding theatre-goers who are looking for a short and sweet night out at the theatre.