by Bernard Pomerance

Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1940, Bernard Pomerance settled in England in the early 1970s with the ambition of becoming a novelist. He soon turned to drama, however, and became involved with various left-wing theater groups, writing and producing plays in London. The first play of his to gain wide recognition was The Elephant Man, which is set in the Victorian era and based on a true story. The play portrays the life of Joseph Carey Merrick, an extremely deformed man who was born in 1862. Highlighted in the play are the repressive social attitudes of Victorian society as well as the era's scientific ideas concerning evolution and survival of the fittest.

Events in History at the Time the Play Takes Place

The Industrial Revolution. From roughly 1780 to 1850, England experienced phenomenal growth in industry. This growth was due to several factors, including...