Sarah Ruhl's "In the Next Room" (or the vibrator play)

Director Scott Edmiston and a strong cast led by Anne Gottlieb and Marianna Bassham explore the shadows as well as the light in this superb production of Sarah Ruhl's play.- Don Aucoin,Globe Staff

Director Scott Edmiston and a strong cast led by the luminous duo of Anne Gottlieb and Marianna Bassham explore the shadows as well as the light in this superb production of Sarah Ruhl's play.


It may be hard to believe, but the vibrator was a medical device before it was ever a sex toy. That's right… Show more - in the 1880s doctors used the newfangled electrical appliance to treat women (and occasionally men) suffering from hysteria. Playwright Sarah Ruhl picked up on the idea after reading Rachel Maines's facinating academic opus "The Technology of Orgasm." Ruhl translated what she learned into "In the Next Room(or the Vibrator Play)," which has made a splash with audiences and critics alike (2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist and 2010 Tony nomination). As the action unfolds, the vibrations emitted by one Dr. Givings's state-of-the-art instrument emanate from the examining room into his entire household. SpeakEasy Stage Company presents the Boston premiere. - Milva DiDomizio, Globe Staff

Director Scott Edmiston leads a strong cast, including the luminous duo of Anne Gottlieb and Marianna Bassham, in an exploration of the shadows and light in Sarah Ruhl's play about the disruptive and liberating effects a certain device has on the wife and patient of a 19th-century doctor. -- Don Aucoin, Globe Staff

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