Event

The Doctor Despite Himself

IPANEMA THEATER TROUPE, who brought you the ovation-award winning production of A Flea in Her Ear, the LA Times Critics Choice The Good Soul of Szechwan, and the acclaimed The Bacchae at the Getty Villa.

In a co-production with
ELECTRIC LODGE and
FILMLAND INTERNATIONAL
presents

A World Premiere Translation and Adaptation of one of Molieres funniest plays:

THE DOCTOR DESPITE HIMSELF
Directed by
GULU MONTEIRO

The Doctor Despite Himself is a one-act farcical attack on the medical profession. Doctors were Molieres favorite target. In his time, medication was more fatal to patients than their illness. Today, with modern medicine, things are not that different. Prescriptions drugs are one of the leading cause of death in America. If Moliere was living in the US today, his opinion about most medical professionals probably wouldnt have changed much.

This new staging by the director Gulu Monteiro will feature 5 actors playing 11 roles and incorporating a theatrical style inspired by the Buffoons. In the Middle Ages Buffoons were sometimes the only ones bold enough to make critical comments about the condition of the kingdom, because anything he said was by definition "a jest" and by making people laugh he could speak frankly about controversial issues.

Without sets, the staging will be centered in the actors work and following the Buffoons tradition, the actors will have Molieres plot as a base with freedom to improvise and create scenes and seek a close complicity with the audience. Outstanding costume designer Swinda Reichelt will dress these jesters in daring futuristico-medieval costumes in colorful geometrical shapes.

Like the Buffoons, the troupe appreciates the value in making people think about serious issues through jest, but is mostly concerned with giving the audience the miraculous medicine that everybody needs: Laughter!

Come to have a great time and bring the entire family!