POOL OF BETHESDA, THE

by Cubitt, Allan

The award winning first play from the author of TV’s Prime Suspect 2 and The Countess Alice has been likened to a Whose Life is it, Anyway? for the twenty first century. Dr Daniel Pearce, a surgeon at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, diagnoses himself as suffering from a brain tumour. The tumour brings on hallucinations, and Pearce’s fascination with Hogarth’s painting of Christ healing the sick at the pool of Bethesda (which hangs in the Great Hall of the hospital) manifests itself in his dreams. Shifting between the present day and the 18th century Hogarthian world, Pearce imagines himself as a doctor at St Bart’s asked by Hogarth to pose as Christ for his painting. But weighed down by his own failure to cure his patients or even himself, his dream takes the shape of a comic nightmare. Returning to his own 20th century world, Pearce tries to come to terms with his illness and the feelings of betrayal, guilt, fear and despair that affect not only himself, but also his wife, sister and colleagues at the hospital. The result is a play bursting with ideas, spiky dialogue, warm humour and remarkable images, one of the most exceptional plays of recent years.