IN THE NEXT ROOM or THE VIBRATOR PLAY, Sarah Ruhl’s clever and powerful drama of female frustration and solitude, is in excellent hands with Meredith Jacobs direction of a talented cast in Castle Hill Player’s latest production. It has lots of humour, in fact at the start of the play on opening night, some of the audience was rather raucous. The cast however, worked wonderfully through this as the audience settled to understand the play more fully as its deeper levels were revealed.
The play is set in the 1880s where there was enthusiasm from some parts of the medical profession for the use of the newly invented electrically charged vibrator designed to cure women’s hysteria. There is definitely the laughter associated with the display of ignorance over the use of the vibrator and its physical consequences. On a more serious level however, the play exposes the emotional and physical neglect endured by women in a male-dominated society where the real action always seems to be taking place in the next room.
The earnest and emotionally stunted Doctor Givings, played with the perfect amount of gravity and oblivion to his wife’s struggles by Paul Sztelma, is working on his strange electrical device with apparently great success on various patients. Curious and bubbling over with pent up energy Kate Gandy is wonderful in the role of his wife Catherine Givings, who watches as more than one patient leaves the next room with a new lease of life and the strong desire to return for more treatments. Brushed aside by her husband who denies her access to the new machine she must take matters into her own hands to discover what is going on in that other room.
There is almost a wild type of comedy about the faith of Dr Givings in his Edison-inspired electrical devices, his willingness to experiment with them on patients of both genders and the consequences. The previously disturbed Sabrina Daldry, played with a delightful naivety yet a certain amount of cunning to get her way, by Lana Jean is one of his patients and shows great excitement when subjected to the device. She and Catherine develop a type of friendship as Catherine seeks her out to understand the mysteries of what happens under the treatment.
Julian Floriano is suitably flamboyant as the frustrated artist Leo Irving who seeks help from Dr Givings. Leo finds great success with the treatment taking up his painting again. This leads to further complications as he desires to paint Elizabeth, the wet nurse while keeping it from her husband.
Christine Wilson is deeply moving as the wet nurse Elizabeth having to comfort Catherine yet forced to stoically face her own ongoing grief at the loss of her son and her revelation of the loss of faith because of the death.
Mr Daldry, played by Chris Scarpellino, is a rather lost soul hoping to get help for his wife yet floundering in his relationships.
Kimberlea Smith is the apparently calm and collected nurse Annie assisting Dr Givings, yet as we come to see, she has her own repressed sexual and emotional desires.
As in real life there are several unrequited loves and complicated relationships among the characters in the play.
Trevor Chase’s settings has a handsome drawing room and a suitably clinical office so characters can move easily between them aided by effective lighting design, James Winters, and sound design Bernard Teuben. Annette Snars’ costumes are lush and detailed.
I recommend this serious comedy, as it certainly still bears relevance today in a rapidly changing technological age where frustration and isolation still exist.
Playing at the Pavilion Theatre, Castle Hill Showground, until 19th August 2023.