Vibrator Play sure to tickle audiences’ funny bits
By Rachel Woodward, April 9 2015 —
The Artist’s Collective Theatre (ACT) is concluding their 2014-15 season with a play that is sure to rub audiences the right way.
Directed by Paul Welch, In the Next Room (Or The Vibrator Play) is a Tony award-winning historical comedy set in New York City about an unusual cure for hysteria.
The story revolves around Dr. Givings, who administers orgasms via vibrator as a way to cure women of delirium and agitation. By inducing “healing paroxysms” in his patients, Givings is believed to have revolutionized the treatment of hysteria in women — and a few men.
Amanda Cutting, the artistic director of ACT, plays the role of Givings’ wife. She says despite the play’s humorous premise, it also delves into the effects the treatment has on the Givings’ marriage.
As patients leave Dr. Givings’ office, Mrs. Givings has to confront the lack of intimacy in her own marriage.
“[Happiness is] always slightly out of her reach,” Cutting says. “[The play] deals with stuff that is still current today — a feeling of feminine shame in the fact that you aren’t able to provide for your child, and a desperate connection between a husband and a wife being so caught up in work that we ignore our partner.”
The play shines light on the historical treatment of hysteria, which Cutting says was a major problem for women in the Victorian era.
“[Hysteria] back then was basically a catch-all for any issue. If you were an outspoken woman, you were hysterical. If you had depression, because nobody knew what depression was back then, you were hysterical. If you had a common cold, you were probably hysterical,” Cutting says.
The play features many emerging local talents, including fourth-year University of Calgary drama student Onika Henry. The play also features costume designer Hanne Loosen from Berlin, as well as Nina Garcia, a set designer who just finished work on Peter Pan at Storybook Theatre.
By infusing humour and sexuality with gender politics, In the Next Room (Or The Vibrator Play) hopes to connect to a modern audience despite its historical roots.
Cutter says that the play aims to push contemporary boundaries with its taboo subject matter.
“There’s definitely some risqué stuff in it. I think it’ll make people laugh, and there will be moments where they definitely blush,” Cutting says.
In The Next Room (Or The Vibrator Play) runs from April 9–18 at West Village Theatre. Tickets range from $17.50 – 22.50.