★★★
The City for Incurable Women transports us back to Salpêtrière Hospital in 1880s Paris, where Dr Jean-Martin Charcot is studying hysteria among the female patients. In his attempts to garner fame, he manipulates the women, parading them on stage to demonstrate his theories of the four stages of madness. Interspersed with these scenes are segments where we hear from his patients, and timelines of hysteria throughout history, allowing us to see how attitudes changed.
It’s a one-woman show, with Charlotte McBurney playing all the roles. She is truly fantastic. They convey so much passion for the subject, and she plays all the characters convincingly. Most impressive is her nuanced portrayal of Charcot: he is likeable and pioneering, yet arrogant and unknowledgeable all at the same time. She acknowledges that while his treatment of the hysterical women was atrocious, he also made great strides in recognising that the symptoms were real, not invented.
Furthermore, McBurney makes effective use of physical theatre. Her command of her body is incredible, and she slips between fluid moments where she’s demonstrating a meditation sequence, to aggressive, jerky movements while demonstrating the four stages of madness. At times, it is uncomfortable to watch, which exemplifies how strange it was for audiences to choose to watch the real demonstrations at the end.
One of the show’s strengths is its segments with Augustine, one of Charcot’s patients. She is subjected to cruel treatments to “cure” her “attacks”, which McBurney reads out from her medical records. They forced her to write down all of her thoughts and hypnotised her, making her believe she liked to eat lemons. Having a real case study serves as a reminder of the horrific acts.
It is hard to know exactly where you are in the performance. First, we have an air safety announcement, then we jump to scenes in the lecture theatre, then we’re back with the suffering women. While all the scenes are technically excellent, they are convoluted, and ultimately, the final narrative doesn’t make sense.
The concept of The City for Incurable Women is strong, and it has lots of powerful moments. Its message is an important one. While we are a long way away from the “wandering womb” theories from the past, women with medical issues are still being dismissed as hysterical, and there is still work to be done to reduce the gender pain gap. With a little more refining, The City for Incurable Women is set to be a powerful piece of theatre.
The City for Incurable Women will be performed at Pleasance Courtyard – Upstairs until 25 August (not 12) as part of Edinburgh Fringe.
Words by Ellen Leslie
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