Details

Recently, the Archivist of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries discovered the lost text of Thomas Brown s 1697 devastating satire on apothecaries and physicians at the close of the 17th century. Never previously performed, this unique play now receives its long-overdue world premiere after 300 years in the play s setting - the unique period surroundings of Apothecaries Hall itself. In the tradition of the great satirical writers of the time, Defoe, Swift, Pope and Dryden, Thomas Brown s unique work illuminates an important moment in the history of medicine. Peopled with grotesque characters and wittily acerbic, coffee-house language, Physick Lies A Bleeding lampoons the greed and dishonesty of London apothecaries and the hypocrisy of physicians. The conflict between these practitioners raged throughout the 17th century and climaxed in the three-year lawsuit, the "Rose Case", ending with a ruling in the House of Lords in March 1703/4 which resulted in the birth of the General Practitioner as we know them today.

Creatives/Company

Author: Thomas Brown
Producer: Neil McPherson
Director(s): Abigail Anderson, Kitty Owen (movement)
Costume: Mia Flodquist