We are all on the spectrum
‘Fukkoffsunnovvabitch!’ comes the cry from Fred when London taxi driver Lee joins him in the doctor’s waiting room, quickly followed by, ‘Sorry, I have Tourette’s.’ And so opens Laurent Baffie’s DocDoc, a play that describes the few hours when six OCD patients come to see Doctor Cooper who claims he can cure them in one visit, writes Michael Holland.
As each patient arrives we soon ascertain the problem they are dealing with: Bob needs symmetry, Mary thinks she has left everything on or unlocked at home; Blanche voraciously cleans and washes her hands; Lili needs to say everything twice twice; Lee is obsessed with numbers and calculations and knows how long they have all been waiting – in seconds! And we know that Fred cannot stop shouting out swear words or something sex-related. The scene is ripe for comedy.
Within minutes I could sense that the Bromley audience were not all aware at how ripe Fred’s outbursts could be, which made it all the funnier when some began clutching their pearls and others snorted all the more.
The doctor’s secretary appears to relay information that the doctor has been delayed but he is on his way. They play Monopoly to pass the time and get to know each other better, and that creates other roads to comedy – Their foibles were on fire now. Blanche can’t touch the germ-filled dice, Mary screams and panics and tries to leave for home whenever someone lands on the water and electric companies, Lee constantly keeps count of the dice thrown… As time goes on they decide to have their own group therapy session, which allows us deeper into their lives and perhaps to the trauma that set off their OCD.
After a while you feel guilty about laughing at their afflictions because you realise that these are the people that constantly live under pressure to conform to society’s expectations when they find it impossible; the very people who hide their true selves away – either physically or metaphorically. In this setting they could feel free to be who are they are because they knew they would be understood and not judged or snubbed by Doctor Cooper’s patients.
Eventually, I began to get fed up with their eccentricities. It wasn’t so funny now when Lili repeated everything she said, Fred shouted obscenities, or Mary thought she’d left the gas on. But then I began thinking of the people I knew who were on the spectrum – in much milder forms – who struggled with aspects of life that others of us do not and how I become annoyed with them. My guilt worsened as we continued to collectively poke fun at their idiosyncrasies.
Fortunately, DocDoc is not an exercise in mocking the afflicted but one to highlight the fact that there are people like this and with our help they can live full lives. Hence, the producers of DocDoc are working in partnership with UK-based mental health charity No Panic who support people with all anxiety problems, which eased my own apprehension and allowed me to enjoy this very funny play as Bob keeps adjusting shelves he feels are out of whack and who cannot walk on lines, hilariously getting around the room by making a bridge of books or bunny-hopping with a cushion; and Fred unnerves sections of the audience long after the other patients had come to terms with his cursing.
It was then, after relating to many of the foibles depicted in DocDoc, I realised that we are all on the spectrum at some level.
Churchill Theatre, High Street, Bromley, BR1 1HA until 15th February then Palace Theatre Southend until the 22nd.
Full details and Booking: https://trafalgartickets.com/churchill-theatre-bromley/en-GB/event/play/doc-doc-tickets
Box Office: 0343 310 0020
