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Drama

David Edgar. Based on "Mary Barnes: Two Accounts of a Journey Through Madness", by Mary Barnes and Joseph Berke.

9m, 6f, doubling possible.

Comp. Int.

This harrowing new drama by the author of Nicholas Nickleby is based on the true story of an English mental patient, and is a scorching indictment of "traditional" methods of treating the mentally ill. Mary Barnes, diagnosed as a hopeless schizophrenic, has spent much of her life in mental hospitals, where she was kept in padded cells and drugged and shocked into numbness. She is finally placed in an alternative community for the mentally ill, run by psychiatrists who oopose drug and shock treatment. There, she is put back on the road to recovery. A recent success on the London stage, and in the U.S. at the famed Long Wharf Theatre. "It disturbs, revolts and moves an audience in a way that serves as a jolting reminder of the awesome power of theatre itself... pulls no punches, and while there is humor here, it is decidedly black, almost painful."—Darien News. "Edgar is remarkable at drawing character."—Boston Globe. "The dialogue has a sharp edge, plus shrewdly judged humor."—Variety.

FEE: $75 per performance.