Oscar Wilde once wrote, “I have found that all ugly things are made by those who strive to make something beautiful.” Bernard Pomerance’s “The Elephant Man” proves this true, but moreover, that beautiful things can be made from those deemed ugly. The New Hampshire Theatre Project’s production of Pomerance’s “The Elephant Man” portrays the conflict born of trying to assimilate a physically monstrous man into a society that deems itself perfect, and the irony that the monster sees the ugliness behind this society’s facade.

Genevieve Aichele, founder and artistic director of NHTP, directs with a sensitive hand, vividly capturing the essence of the times and the spirit of Pomerance’s script. This is the sorrowful fable of a pure soul imprisoned within the body of a hideously deformed creature and the lifetime of cruelties he endures. From being paraded at Victorian freak shows by greedy peddlers to his frustrations with the rules imposed “for his own good” by foolish do-gooders, the Elephant Man’s emotional ailments are visited upon him by “normal”’ folks warped on the excesses of modern civilization.

Aichele’s production is a collection of dusty, sepia-toned photographs blown clean with powerful performances from the cast (most playing a number of different parts). The titles projected at the beginning of each scene echo Victorian drama, and the sparse stage focuses the audience on the importance of character and performance (backed by a hauntingly primitive musical score, brilliantly played by Laurie Meeder). “Each of the characters has been ‘polished like a mirror,’” comments Aichele in the program, “so that true historical identities are blended seamlessly into archetypal metaphors.” Indeed,  the story is as much about the powerful effect of John Merrick’s personality on those who came into contact with him as it is about his tragic disease. This admirably simple yet direct production forces its protagonists to question science and religion, colonialism, industrialization and sexual repression. The Elephant Man renders Victorian progressives empty and soulless, high on their sense of vapid self-importance, wandering into the 20th century morally defunct, blind to their own terminal failings.

Joseph Chase is effective as the pathetically loathsome Ross, who makes his pittance exhibiting the unsightly Merrick around Europe’s freak shows. Lisa Richardson’s performance as Mrs. Kendall adds a warmth and humor to the production, her relationship with Merrick stripping (literally and metaphorically) her character of the pretensions that her class parades. When Merrick says of Mrs. Kendall that she “…is the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. Ever,” a hushed silence falls over the audience, and I think all are touched.

Leads Peter Motson and Blair Hundertmark are magnetic in their portrayal of the relationship between Dr. Treves and Merrick (whom they play, respectively), which lies at the play’s heart. Early on, Motson aptly conveys Treves’ blind devotion to science. With the blossoming of his friendship with his hideous specimen comes Treves’ realization of the hypocrisy of everything he stands for, unable to comprehend anything he was or once believed in. A problem I have always had with Pomerance’s play is that Treves’ decline is a little too rapid, his devolution deserves more coverage in the script. However, this is more a criticism of the original play than of this particular production.

Hundertmark also is impressive, shining through his distorted grimace, vividly portraying the life of a man whose horrible personal plight mirrors the virtues and vices of the “normal.” Merrick’s physical deformity is conveyed with the actor’s voice and body language rather than extreme makeup or speech gimmicks. His speech is slurred but audible, his utterances tinged at once with childlike wonderment and sadness.

The New Hampshire Theatre Project’s production of “The Elephant Man” prods at what it means to be human, looks at the way we set aside fundamental values for the sake of the so-called greater good and reaffirms the healing power of love and dreams as forms of hope. While carefully avoiding sentimental cliché, Aichele’s stark vision with accompanying naturalism exposes an intellectual and emotional intensity on the stage. If society is a mechanism of licensed cruelty, it is not recklessly optimistic to suggest that its dictatorial power can be countered by redemptive love. However, all is not well at the end of “The Elephant Man”—characters remain disillusioned with their lots, their grim epiphanies complete without remedy.
 
The Elephant Man
presented by New Hampshire Theatre Project, directed by Genevieve Aichele and
starring Blair Hundertmark and Peter Motson, through Nov. 20.
Shows are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12-$20.
West End Studio Theatre,
959 Islington St., 603-431-6644