Bernard Pomerance And The Elephant Man Essay

, Research Paper

JOSHUA SHELTON

Drama 10:00

May 2, 2000

Bernard Pomerance and The Elephant Man

Bernard Pomerance was born in 1940 in Brooklyn, New York. He attended college at the University of Chicago, where he received a degree in English. In the 1970’s Pomerance moved to London, England to become a novelist. He was unsuccessful and then decided to try his hand as a dramatist. He quickly got involved with several left-wing fringe groups, which where at the time thriving in England. Then, along with director Ronald Rees, he founded the Foco Nove Theater group. Throughout Pomeranc’s career nearly all of his plays were at one time preformed at his Foco Novo theater..

Pomerance became fairly successful as a play write. His first play, High in Vietnam Hot Damn, was first produced by the Foco Novo Theater group in 1971 in London. Hospital and Thanksgiving Before Detroit where also produced by the Foco Novo Theater group in 1971. In 1972 a play called Foco Novo was produced by the Foco Novo Theater group. In 1974 Someone Else is Still Someone was produced. A adaption of a play by Brecht, A Man’s a Man, was produced in 1975. The Elephant Man, Pomerance’s only really popular piece of work came out in 1979. It was first produced at the Hempstead Theater in London. It was then produced off Broadway at the Theater of St. Peters church, and on Broadway at the Booth Theater in New York City. After The Elephant Man Pomerance produced Faber in 1981 and Melons in 1985, but neither became popular like The Elephant Man. During Pomerance’s career he also published one novel called We Need to Dream All This Again, but it was unsuccessful. Most of Pomerance’s plays were reasonably liked, but none were recognized and praised like The Elephant Man. The Elephant man received a Tony, the Drama Desk Award, the New York Critics Award, and an Obi all in 1979.

In 1980 The Elephant Man was made into a movie. The movie was also popular and received high praise. John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, Wendy Hiller, and Anne Bancraft all stared in the movie and did an excellent job. Although the movie was as popular as the play, it was extemely different. One of the major problems with the movie is the makeup of John Merrick, the main character. Because it is a movie they can not rely on the theatricalness of the play. Merrick’s character is forced to where a horrible costume which makes him almost to difficult to look at. This makes it very different from the play because in the play it is extremely important that the actor does nothing to make himself look the way the real John Merrick looked.

In 1980, in one of the most famous productions of The Elephant Man, the main character of John Merrick was played by David Bowie. Merrick’s character is extremely difficult to play. The entire play, including the tittle is based on the deformities of John Merrick, yet the actor who preforms his roll is forced to do so using no padding or makeup to make himself look deformed. They must rely solely on their talent to persuade the audience to believe how terrible he looks. It is imperative to the play that they do not ware any kind of costume to make themselves look deformed. The only thing they are allowed to do is bend their bodies. Anything else is believed to take away form the play tremendously.

The Elephant Man is a true story inspired by a man named John Merrick. Merrick was born in 1863 and died in 1890 at the young age of only 27. He suffered from a genetic disorder known as nevrotibromatosis. His body was grotesquely deformed. His head was thirty-six inches in circumference, and he had large lumps all over his body. He had no use of his right arm but, his left arm was normal. His body was so deformed he could hardly walk, and he talked with an accent that made him difficult to understand. The only part of Merrick that was completely normal and functioning were his sex organs, but because he was so horrifying he was never able to experience them. Merrick’s disease was once thought to be a result of his mother being attacked by an elephant when she was pregnant, thus he received the name Elephant Man. Merrick was sent away to a factory to work as a very young child. There he was treated horribly and abused. Later a man took him in and brought him to a carnival were he was a side freak show. People payed money to look at him and be frightened. There he was also abused. He was treated as if he was an animal, but this was the only way of life he new and understood. Towards the end of Merrick’s life he was befriended by a well respected doctor, Frederick Treves. With the help of the police Dr. Treves took Merrick out of the carnival and gave him a home in a hospital in London. Because the hospital was caring for such a person, they received large contributions. Many believe this is the only reason they helped Merrick. At first they had trouble because no one could care for Merrick because everyone was horrified of him, but they eventually found an actress who could do it. As they cleaned Merrick up he proved to be a highly intelligent, and sensitiva man. He was introduced to many people during his stay at the hospital. He met actors, doctors, and even some royalty. As Merrick grew more and more to be like the rest of society, he grew weaker and weaker. All John Merrick ever wanted was to be like everyone else, but in the end this was said to be the disease