The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man is a compelling new drama that’s not to be missed this October starring Zak Ford-Williams (BBC1’s Better) as Joseph Merrick.

EXCLUSIVE North West date at Blackpool Grand Theatre direct from Nottingham Playhouse!

Powerful, angry and surprising – Tom Wright’s The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man is unmissable live theatre at Blackpool Grand from Tuesday 17 to Saturday 21 October.

If you think you know the story of The Elephant Man – think again. The European premiere of Australian playwright Tom Wright’s acclaimed play imagines an alternative…

Now is the perfect time to book your tickets for this fascinating story as August is the birth month of the original Joseph Merrick – a man fighting for his right to be and to belong.

Arriving from his East Midlands beginnings and thrust into a London thick with the grime of industrialisation, Joseph Merrick is an anomaly in a harsh and unforgiving world. In a city of factories that churn out uniformity, there is no place for a unique being like him. But Merrick and the city are evolving into something new. Follow him through the workhouse, the freakshow and the hospital as he searches for acceptance in a society that just wants to stare at him.

This radical re-imagining, described as a ‘theatre-poem’, is presented by Nottingham Playhouse and will be directed by Stephen Bailey, winner of the Royal Theatrical Support Trust (RTST) Sir Peter Hall Directing Award 2022. This exciting new play also features a talented cast composed entirely of disabled, deaf and/or neurodivergent actors, led by the renowned Zak Ford-Williams (BBC1’s Better, A Christmas Carol, Wolfe) as Joseph Merrick.

Zak will be joined by Annabelle Davis (Hollyoaks, The Dumping Ground), Daneka Etchells (Titus Andronicus, Much Ado About Nothing), Killian Thomas Lefevre (Bat Out of Hell, Thomas and the Magic Railway 20th Anniversary), Nadia Nadarajah (Maryland, Hamlet & As You Like It – Shakespeare’s Globe), and Tim Pritchett (Missing Julie, Our Country’s Good).

Director Stephen Bailey said: “Tom Wright has written a bold, inspired restyling of Joseph’s unique life that sees him not as a medical specimen but a man. The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man uses beautiful, poetic text to ask probing questions about work, industrialisation and the value of life.

“It’s not about inspiration or pity: it’s about the reality of how we look at those who are the other. In the current cost of living crisis, it asks if seeing humans solely as workers is compatible with transformed bodies and long-term health conditions. I’m thrilled to be given the platform to tell this story featuring some of the UK’s finest disabled talent. With pulsating live music and stunning visuals, we’re staging this epic fable centering Joseph in his own story for the first time.”

Zak Ford-Williams said: “I cannot wait to allow audiences into the incredible, haunting world of the play. I was transfixed by The Real and Imagined History of The Elephant Man from the moment I read it. Then as soon as I experienced Stephen’s vision, precision and warmth for the play I was desperate to be on board. It’s a challenge and a gift of a role.”

Joseph Merrick was born in Leicestershire in August 1862 and at the age of five began to show signs of a strange disorder that caused abnormal growths of much of the skin and bone across his body, including the size of his head increasing to 3 feet (almost 1 metre) in circumference. Merrick was confined to a workhouse at age 17 before escaping four years later to join a freak show and displays of the ‘The Elephant Man’ were part of the ‘human curiosities’ movement of the 19th century that saw rise of showman P.T. Barnum and carnival freak shows across the UK and abroad.

Whilst on exhibition, Joseph was discovered by a London physician, Frederick Treves, and admitted to London Hospital in 1886. A letter that was published in an (unsuccessful) effort to find Merrick a hospital for chronic medical cases drew the attention of London society, which earned him a measure of fame and led to Merrick receiving visits from a number of prominent individuals, including HM Alexandra, Princess of Wales. He remained at the London Hospital until he died in his sleep of accidental suffocation aged just 27 years of age.

The incredible new stage production finally puts Joseph at the centre of his own story, rejecting the myth of his powerlessness as he was often portrayed in previous interpretations and transforming him into an agent of his own worth.
Don’t miss this bold re-telling of the Elephant Man story that questions industrialisation, capitalism, disability and difference and finally shows the man, not the specimen …

Tom Wright’s The Real and Imagined History of The Elephant Man starring Zak Ford-Williams (BBC1’s Better, A Christmas Carol, Wolfe) as Joseph Merrick is not to be missed and is at Blackpool Grand Theatre for its EXCLUSIVE North West date from Tuesday 17 to Saturday 21 October with evening and matinee performances. Age Guidance 12yrs+

Tickets from £14.50 with some concessions available.

Captioning available for every show

A Visual Story will also be available for any audience members that would like to familiarise themselves with the show/theatre before their visit.