Dr Semmelweis – Harold Pinter Theatre – Saturday 8th July 2023

(Rated 7/5) The supremely superb actor Sir Mark Rylance, not only plays revolutionary Hungarian scientist and doctor Ignaz Semmelweis in this production, but also imagined and wrote this play about him, having read Celine’s surrealist novel, exploring Semmelweis’s life and work. Mark Rylance has assembled a wonderfully rich team of actors, musicians, dancers, designers and other artistic talents to convey Semmelweis’ story, as though from within his own mind and without too, using his wife Maria Semmelweis – played by Amanda Wilkin – to narrate his story from an external – yet also of course emotionally connected – point of view, along with those other performers to illustrate the workings of his mind scientifically, creatively and psychologically. We are introduced to Vienna hospital and the key ‘issue’ in the play by means of young expectant mother, Lisa Elstein – played by dancer, (though as is important to both this production and in addressing Semmelweis’ medical discovery, she, like everyone else is a holistic performer in a piece addressing holistic issues and not just microscopic particles), Chrissy Brooke. As she arrives, she is clearly in labour and asking to go to the midwives’ rather than the doctors’ ward, as a friend has told her there is more risk to her health and potentially life, in the doctors’ ward. This plants a seed into the audience’s and Semmelweis’ mind – again holistic as it is really as though we are all inside his head experiencing this whole process with him – we are all members of his scientific research team. The staging also adds to that feeling and experience. On the stage itself we are in a dark black space, with the characters playing as though within or as background to the main action in Ignaz’ drama. Often the expectant or new mothers appear in the stages of labour or in various phases of puerperal fever in the periphery, whilst doctors are performing or discussing their work in the centre. However, it is not just the stage that is used by performers – they appear at different times all round the entire theatre space – I had a violinist and a dancer perform right next to my seat by one of the exits. Performers also literally join the audience as audience members for a play within the play, and later as medics at a conference quizzing Ignaz as he tries to explain his new ideas from the stage. And what of those ideas? New physician Semmelweis is starting his work as a ‘junior doctor’ in the middle of the nineteenth century, around the same period when Charles Darwin was developing his equally revolutionary and important ideas on evolution. The whole first act of the play is focused on how Ignaz came to his conclusions – beautifully explored as experiments performed through music, dance and mime – with a little discussion thrown in. You literally feel like it’s all passed in just five minutes – there is no heavy science or debate as such to deal with. Though, in reality poor Ignaz – who had great difficulty in expressing himself, which of course added to his problems challenging the supposed knowledge of the time – had a great deal of backlash and heavy challenge as he tried to go against the assumed wisdom of his superiors and some peers. I won’t spoil the story and your voyage of discovery – yep in my mind is Darwin’s voyage on The Beagle and his observations on the Galapagos islands as I write this sentence – as potential audience members for future performances of this play – but suffice to say Semmelweis had to wait until his superiors were away, to undertake the studies, which would lead to his discovery of the causes of death of some of the new mothers in his, and his team’s care. Playing another key role in that care was midwife Anna Muller – beautifully and compassionately performed by Pauline McLynn – who agreed – with other collaborators amongst the doctors – too many characters/performers to name everyone specifically – to try various scenarios to test theories in search of answers. That core factor for Semmelweis was the putrid-smell-causing “death particles”, which he observed in autopsies – we now call them bacteria. With that understanding, came the concept of hand-washing in diluted chlorine between patients – and so happily a reduction in deaths amongst the new mothers – fewer cases of puerperal fever – and later, the development and use of anti-septics. The Neo-Darwinists of today would have us believe that similar tiny particles solely involved in evolution are those of the DNA in our genes. However, in concluding that, they are misrepresenting Darwin and also rejecting Jean-Baptiste Lamarck before him. Lamarck conceived the concept of inheritance of acquired characteristics – and later Darwin would propose the idea of “gemules” – now called exosomes – which enable the inheritance of those characteristics acquired in an organism’s lifetime. Yes, I am aware this may appear to be my going off at a tangent, however, I am simply providing yet another example – see also Nick Smurthwaite’s piece on ‘The Quiet Pioneers’ in this play’s programme – of scientists or other practitioners – who have made crucially important and revolutionary discoveries, that were blocked – or sadly even worse – as they went against the grain of the contemporary wisdom of their time. For further detail on this particular example of the current ‘Evolution Revolution’, I encourage readers to look at ‘Understanding Living Systems’, by Raymond Noble and Denis Noble. I have heard some say theatre is simply there to entertain us – to provide an escape from reality. But, I feel the best theatre is there to also educate us, to relate to us as we feel it resonate with something in our own lives, and to challenge some of our values and beliefs as well as hold and affirm us in others. In director Tom Morris’s piece ‘What is a Radical?’ in the programme he finishes with: ‘The greatest soliloquy writer of all challenged theatre makers “to hold, as ‘twere, the mirror up to nature” and it is surely true that any live collaborative act of storytelling will reflect the concerns of the age and society in which the story is forged. The play you will watch this evening is our collective response to Semmelweis’ story and the world we live in now, inspired by the talent and vision of a brilliant theatre artist. It is both the story of a wild outsider battling against his world, and a reflection on what seems to me to be the greatest need in our society now; to balance incisive vision with patience, kindness and the capacity to listen.’ Mark Rylance’s Dr Semmelweis is a tour de force of a theatrical production telling a highly poignant, challenging, radical, visionary story of science and a man’s life with the greatest sensitivity and compassion together with charm, laughter, sadness and inspiring all the emotions in between. As he always does, Mark Rylance puts ever so much of himself into the production – and yes again holistically! He is involved, I believe, in almost every aspect. Of course, none of us can know Ignaz Semmelweis himself, but Mark inhabits a great thinker, who is kind and caring, yet facing a monumental challenge of increasingly sever opposition, cracks into vulnerability and a struggle to mentally face the storm. We are shown with such powerful visuals and music, how difficult it can be for someone to confront and change imbedded positions and the toll that can take on them personally and professionally. It is the story of one man, but it is also the story of many men and women. Unlike Ignaz himself, Mark is superbly supported by all the creative performers involved. Oh, what a different story it could have been if it had been so for Semmelweis!

I couldn’t recommend this more for entertainment and intellectual and emotional education! Dr Semmelweis – Review by TheRestrictedReviewer © 2023