Medicine
John Kane sits on a hospital trolley. Very shortly, a giant lobster, two women called Mary, a very old man and a jazz percussionist arrive. Then everything starts.
Enda Walsh's Medicine is a dark and frequently absurdist play. Devastatingly funny and profoundly moving, it examines how, for decades, we have treated those we call 'mentally ill'.
It was first produced by Landmark Productions and Galway International Arts Festival as part of the 2021 Edinburgh International Festival, prior to performances in Galway and New York. It was directed by Enda Walsh, with a cast including Clare Barrett, Aoife Duffin and Domhnall Gleeson, with drummer Seán Carpio.
Medicine is published in the volume Medicine & The Same: two plays.
'One of the most fiercely individual voices in the theatre today' New York Times
'Flamboyant, funny and surreal'
Guardian'Taut and energetic, frequently bleak, but shot through with touches of absurdist humour... burns with searing honesty... It's chilling, powerful, and unforgettable'
Whatsonstage'A heartbreaking yet hugely energising and thrilling journey through one man's troubled psyche'
Scotsman'Takes the stage by storm... It's bizarre, quite extraordinary and mind-boggling'
Broadway Baby'Devilishly satirical... cuts disturbingly close to the bone'
Sunday Times