The Doctor has finally opened in the West End after its transfer from The Almeida was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the diagnosis is a compelling and powerful production. Over 100 years after Arthur Schnitzler’s Professor Bernhardi, the play has been reimagined with a new adaptation by Robert Icke, yet the subject matters conveyed addressing attitudes about unconscious bias and neutrality still feel relevant today.

Ruth Wolff (Juliet Stephenson) is a board member and senior clinician of the dementia hospital she founded. “I’m a doctor” she repeats, this is her identity and her sternness and reputation in this position have earned the nickname “BB”, Big Bad Wolff. She has encountered a 14 year old girl in A&E who is dying of sepsis due to complications of a self-administered abortion and decides to treat her. Her parents were out of the country and are now on a plane to visit their daughter. Meanwhile, a priest arrives to visit the girl. He bears no identification, except a dog collar, and Dr. Wolff refuses he see the girl in her last moments. Their altercation and her choice result in an accelerating negative public response. 

The play packs in a considerable amount of text, with its highly qualified cast performing conversation-led scenes. The sheer quantity of lines to digest never feels overdone and has brilliant energy in its direction by Icke. Juliet Stephenson is enthralling in her role, perfectly captivating a hard-edged woman who stands firmly behind her position. In 2022, colour-blind casting has become more common in theatre, and on a journey to embrace equality and diversity, this play uses colour and gender-conscious casting. The Doctor has purposefully cast many of its characters in roles of different genders and races and it successfully does this to allow audiences to question their own biases. Whilst this may appear confusing to begin with, it is a very clever and memorable casting decision that deliberately induces personal responses to the material.

The Doctor expertly does what many theatre pieces try and fail to do; it sparks debates between audience members from the interval to days beyond. Who was in the right? Can doctors show neutrality? Should we treat others differently and make allowances for individuals because of their protected characteristics? The play itself is an engrossing 2 hours and 45 minutes of theatre, and it’s equally fascinating to listen to other audience members discuss the themes as they leave the Duke of York’s Theatre. The continuation of our own conversations makes this a very clever and impactful piece. This is a rare gem of a play, fascinating and thought-provoking, certain to segment in audiences’ memories for years to come. 

***** Five stars

Reviewed by: Cat Hancock

The Doctor plays at the Duke of York’s Theatre until 11 December, with tickets available here.