More than a curiosity – a musical tale about the Elephant Man

The Elephant in the Room – The Warren, Brighton Fringe, Sunday 11 July

Don’t mention the football. In the joyous hours before the world came crashing down around our ears, a wonderful new musical and a few beers in the sunshine appeared to herald a distinctly special day.

But let us ignore the elephant in the room and focus on this musical based on Joseph Carey Merrick, otherwise known as the Elephant Man.

No doubt the writers of this tale, Alan Perry and Bradley Tullett, had to tread carefully on such a sensitive subject. “Will this work?” I asked myself as I hobbled with my crutch to The Warren, a snapped Achilles nothing to a man such as Merrick who suffered a life of torment for his appearance.

If the names Perry and Tullett sound familiar, that’s because they’re members of legendary Sussex ska seven-piece Too Many Crooks, who earlier this year released their fifth album, Hung, Drawn and Quartered, to much critical acclaim.

Billed with the subtitle “freak shows, friendship and faith”, The Elephant in the Room is the “true story of one man’s journey to self-acceptance” – and the matinee performance featured 10 of 16 songs written by Perry and Tullett before the musical becomes a touring production.

The tale brings important facts about Merrick to the surface rather than playing to the obvious.

Contrary to depictions seen in David Lynch’s movie The Elephant Man (1980), Merrick chose to become an “exhibit” to escape the workhouse, while Tom Norman, the showman who brought him to London, was trying to help him rather than an avaricious bully. Albeit with some money to be made on the way.

I hear the sound of chins being stroked but Perry tells me that Joanne Vigor-Mungovin, author of Joseph: The Life, Times and Places of the Elephant Man, was consulted as historical adviser on the script and declared it “much more accurate than the famous film”.

She, in turn, put Perry in touch with Merrick’s great-great-great-great-niece who is eager for the show to visit Leicester, birthplace of her great (x4) uncle. As she’s verger of Leicester Cathedral, this seems a most likely proposition.

While that’s all true, I’m sure your thoughts have already turned to make-up.

After all, in the famous film John Hurt had to spend seven to eight hours a day having his Merrick make-up applied and two hours having it taken off. So how do you deal with that for a stage version?

To be brief – a gert big sack fashioned into a mask by local artist Kit Ellery Oddy. Frankie Davison, who is musical director as well as lead, has to spend the entire performance sweating beneath hessian, yet his voice is outstanding and sets the scene superbly with opening number Sticks and Stones.

Making her directorial debut, Amie Shouler keeps the production, with its sparse cast, ticking along at a breathless pace.

Rocco Biancardi has a busy afternoon as he not only narrates but has to play more than one showman in the show.

Nigel Cooper looks the part as Frederick Treves with a natty moustache and an air of serious business, while hints of Perry and Tullett’s ska history shine through in numbers such as Money For Old Rope and I Can, Can.

These songs also allow the marvellously monikered Sharon Starr, Jack Evans and Charlie Dey to reveal their range of skills as character changes come thick and fast.

The scene-stealer, however, is Eleanor Lakin as Madge Kendal. Her wonderful voice led my jaw to drop (not easy with a mask beneath a sturdy chin) and her stage presence surely means she’s destined to go far.

As I hobbled home with no thoughts of the horror to come, I have no doubt we’ll see and hear more of The Elephant in the Room and its marvellous cast.