SING LITTLE CUCKOO
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Nelly Bly was only 19 years old when she was asked by Mr Pulitzer, the editor of the New York World to get herself committed to the infamous, Blackwell Island Lunatic Asylum to report on the conditions inside. Rumours had it that the conditions were terrible and the treatment of the patients horrific. Concerns were growing and even though Julius Chambers had tried something similar in 1872, there was still much to be done for the treatment of patients and the development of mental health.
Nelly found a way to be committed at the court to the asylum, with the understanding that after 10 days the editor and lawyers would come and get her out. She found herself in a world, so far from her own. Appalling conditions, appalling treatment of the women in there and women who clearly had no choice and some who were not even ill. After her release she wrote an expose on her time in the asylum and with the lawyers went to try and free some of the women she met. Only they were no longer there. However,. after the pronunciation of her book, Ten Days In The Madhouse, an extra $1,000,000 was ploughed into the mental health system in New York. Her expose was the beginning of the end for Blackwell Island, with the asylum closing for good in 1894. |
THE PLAY - Sing Little Cuckoo
The play is written for 12 characters and an ensemble, but this could be adapted and some parts could be multi-roled. When it was first produced all our actors also played the ensemble roles. It has a running time of about 50 minutes. |
THEMES
The play explores many themes which could be developed in the drama classroom as well as rehearsal. These include:
Mental health
Victorian asylums
Undercover reporters and journalism
The plight of women v men in asylums
Friendship
Ignorance
Knowledge of medical science or lack of
Survival
The play explores many themes which could be developed in the drama classroom as well as rehearsal. These include:
Mental health
Victorian asylums
Undercover reporters and journalism
The plight of women v men in asylums
Friendship
Ignorance
Knowledge of medical science or lack of
Survival
The play is available for performance. Please contact me at [email protected]
Paperback scripts are currently in the design process and will be available in early 2022. In the meantime a pdf of the script is available to purchase and includes teacher and student notes for the production, suggested workshop activities as well as notes on the background to the asylum system in the US and UK, with examples of patients notes from Lunatic Asylums.
Paperback scripts are currently in the design process and will be available in early 2022. In the meantime a pdf of the script is available to purchase and includes teacher and student notes for the production, suggested workshop activities as well as notes on the background to the asylum system in the US and UK, with examples of patients notes from Lunatic Asylums.