Abstract
The Almeida, London; finished 28 September 2019. The Doctor starts at the Duke of York’s Theatre, London, from 20 April 2020 ‘Whom, not who.’ Professor Ruth Wolff (unaffectionately known as BB, for Big Bad) is a stickler for grammar, due process, and her patients’ best interests. This leads her to prevent a Roman Catholic priest visiting a dying 14-year-old, which escalates into a ferocious debate, fuelled by an online petition. The setting of The Doctor is deeply implausible — Professor Wolff is the founding director of a privately funded institute for dementia research, which has in-patient beds and no mention of laboratory medicine whatsoever. She decides to admit a teenager who has sepsis from a self-administered abortion. To a clinical ear and eye it is on this ground she should be held to account; however, this is not the point of the play. The issues explored are those of identity, unconscious bias, and the tension between medicine and faith. By denying the priest access to the …
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