Sarah Ruhl’s period-based piece In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) has a title that – the part in parentheses at least – may be slightly misleading in its suggestion of the tone of the play. While the vibrator is certainly front and centre, (excuse the vulgar pun), this is not a bawdy, lascivious romp. Rather, it is a sensitive, intuitive look at a particular time in history, seeing it through the female gaze.
In upstate New York in the late 1800s, society is adjusting to post-civil war sensibilities as well as speedy advances in technology. Electricity has just been invented, though only affluent early adopters have electrical light in their homes. Dr Givings and his wife, Catherine, are such people.
Dr Givings is a medical practitioner who is enthralled with technological science; he has a framed photo of Thomas Edison in his office. He is pragmatic, intellectual and even-tempered, to the point of being almost soulless.
Catherine is the antithesis of this: lively, passionate, unrestrained. She is a new mother with a baby, Letitia, who is several months old and undernourished because Catherine is unable to produce enough milk. When her husband suggests they should employ a wet nurse, Catherine reluctantly agrees, trying to repress feelings of inadequacy.
In his home office, Dr Givings treats patients, mostly women, who suffer from ‘hysteria’, which manifests as depression, anxiety or other undesirable dispositions. His methodology involves stimulating the genitals of his patients to produce a ‘paroxysm’, i.e. orgasm, thus promoting better blood circulation and an improved outlook on life.
Thanks to the invention of electricity, the good doctor can now stimulate his patients using an electric vibrating device, thus, saving his hand from repetitive strain injury.
Meanwhile, Catherine is frustrated, bored and desperate for affection. The groaning sounds she hears from patients in her husband’s closed office intrigue her. She befriends a regular patient, Sabrina Daldry, a pianist brought to Dr Givings by her husband in an effort to cure her awkward, melancholic state.
One day, Sabrina arrives for an appointment while Dr Givings is out and she and Catherine break into the office and…
In The Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) is an unabashed exploration of sexuality, in particular, the ignorance that surrounded female sexuality during that time in history – and probably still does.
Ruhl’s script is piercingly witty, yet also keenly observed and thoughtful. Even the more comical characters, such as the philandering artist, Leo Irving, are given a degree of depth and dimension.
One side storyline that involves a same-sex attraction is treated tenderly, if also with sombre poignancy. In another, Ruhl introduces the spectre of lingering racism when Catherine is encouraged to allow a Black wet nurse, Elizabeth, to feed her child. Again, Elizabeth is not merely a theatrical device; she has her own complex story.
Emma Whitehead directs with a deep understanding of Ruhl’s intent, perfectly balancing humour with incisive commentary. Tom Bannerman’s set immediately evokes the austerity of the Givings’ upper middle class home. Two rooms are shown side by side: the doctor’s surgery and the living room, but the dividing wall is only implied, perhaps suggesting that the characters see only what they want to see?
Alicia Badger’s lighting cleverly incorporates the several lamps on stage, torches of the new electrical age and expressions of the Givings’ stature.
Interestingly, elements of the play are based on fact. Doctors during the late 1800s did believe that genital stimulation could treat certain emotional maladies, using a manual method before switching to the electric vibrator, though whether the device was specifically invented for this purpose is still contested.
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This is a thought-provoking, entertaining and even informative play by New Theatre and well worth a trip into Newtown.
In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) by Sarah Ruhl
New Theatre, Newtown
Director: Emma Whitehead
Lighting Designer: Alicia Badger
Costume Designer: Hugo Fraser
Set Designer: Tom Bannerman
Assistant Set Designer: Paris Bell
Props, Set and Costume Coordinator: Annette van Roden
Dramaturg and Intimacy Coordinator: Sonya Kerr
Lighting Programmer and Tech: Atlas Andrews
Stage Manager: Jade Dunleavy
Assistant Stage Managers: Bianca Dreis, Sophie Aloi
Cast: Sarah Greenwood, Riley Thomas, Alyona Popova, Lisa Kelly, Lewis McLeod, Ruva Shoko, Luke Visentin
In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) will be performed until 17 May 2025.
