James Barry was born Margaret Anne Bulkley, but she fooled the world in order to become a doctor in the British army, which in the very early nineteenth century was an unthinkable and prohibited career for a woman. The Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group (EGTG) presents her story in the premiere of
A highly confident and commanding performance
She graduated in medicine from the University of Edinburgh in 1812 and went on to achieve the highest medical rank in a career that spanned nearly 50 years and that is related by Jac Wheble in a highly confident and commanding performance that has all the egotistical no-nonsense dynamism for which the doctor was renowned. She is joined by Kenneth Brangman who gives a suitably humble and at times sarcastic performance as Black John, her devoted lifetime manservant and confidante, who safeguarded the secret of posing as a man. It's an intriguing relationship that Wheble and Brangman explore in all its diversity.
With a versatile set by Richard Spiers of simple furniture that adapts to make a bed, a table, the bows of a ship and even a horse, we romp around the world as the doctor becomes a pioneer of reforming medicine with musical accompaniment from Flora Henderon. If anything there is perhaps too much detail, with example after example heaped upon country after country, until the story begins to tire.
Nevertheless, it makes for an enjoyable and highly informative evening’s entertainment.
