Gina Moxley's THE PATIENT GLORIA Comes to St. Ann's Warehouse This Month

St. Ann's Warehouse, in association with Gina Moxley and Pan Pan, presents the American premiere of Moxley's award-winning, punk-propelled satire The Patient Gloria, directed by John McIlduff, November 16-December 4. Created at the height of #MeToo protest and empowerment, Moxley's production comes to the U.S. in a moment of grave peril for women's rights. Moxley employs a hilarious and galvanizing combination of vintage film, theatrical reenactment, propulsive music, and personal reflections to lay bare the deep legacy of sexism in psychotherapy.

At the center of The Patient Gloria is Three Approaches to Psychotherapy (aka The Gloria Films), an influential 1965 series of training films featuring Gloria Szymanski, a single mother parenting a daughter in fourth grade, and three psychotherapy giants: Carl Rogers, Frederick (Fritz) Perls, and Albert Ellis. Szymanski consented to participate in the films under the condition that they were to be used only for training purposes and in psychology classes. But they were ultimately released on TV and in cinemas, scattering Gloria's intimate reflections across American culture and discourse. In a notable exchange, for example, the recently divorced Gloria recounted the discomfort she felt about lying to her daughter when her daughter asked, "Mommy, did you ever go to bed with anyone besides daddy?"

Moxley offers a "feminist analysis of how female sexuality has always been recorded through the male gaze" (The Evening Standard), subverting that tradition by sending up the live sessions in the films to expose the prejudices of the therapists-all played by Moxley. The production and its all-female cast shine a light on the injustice Szymanski and countless other women have suffered while seeking mental healthcare. The production combines re-enactment with some film footage of the 30-year-old, chain-smoking, loquacious Gloria, and Moxley's recounting of her own lived experience, having been a woman in Ireland in the 1970s. With The Patient Gloria, Moxley avenges the betrayal of Gloria's privacy, and reveals an entrenched legacy of misogyny with candor and biting humor. The "revenge" is hilarious and sweet.

The Patient Gloria features performances from Jane Deasy (the punk rocker), Gina Moxley (all three therapists), and Liv O'Donoghue (Gloria). The creative team includes Liv O'Donoghue (Choreographer), Andrew Clancy (Set Designer), Sarah Bacon (Costume Designer), Adam Welsh (Sound Designer), Sinéad Wallace (Lighting Designer), Conan McIvor (AV Designer), and Emma Coen (Producer).

The Patient Gloria made its world premiere at The Abbey Theatre as part of Dublin Theatre Festival in 2018 and won the top honors-the Scotsman Fringe First and Herald Angel Awards-at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe. The Fest wrote that it "grabs psychiatry by the balls" and, in four-star reviews, The Guardian described it as "waywardly funny" and The Stage called it "cathartic and anarchic." In a five-star review of the production at Theatre Royal Brighton in this year's Brighton Festival, The Arts Desk called The Patient Gloria "an electric exploration of the control and manipulation of women." The Scene, also reviewing the production in Brighton, noted its "great soundtrack with live renditions of songs by The Beach Boys, L7, and, of course, Van Morrison ["Gloria"]."

St. Ann's Warehouse Artistic Director Susan Feldman said, "When I saw The Patient Gloria in Edinburgh, I don't think I had laughed that hard in years. There is glee and outrage in how Gina deftly mocks and diverts the 'male gaze' to other parts of the male body. It's transgressive, fun, and hilarious. But the current war on women's bodies and sexuality is dead serious. The show arrives at a time when our rights are being brazenly set back, with dire consequences. I hope people will come see The Patient Gloria and enjoy Moxley's sharp satirical protest in solidarity."

The Patient Gloria is next in a season of unprecedented scale for St. Ann's Warehouse that began with the organization co-producing the monumental public art project Little Amal Walks NYC and continues, through November 6, with Emma Rice and Wise Children's Wuthering Heights, which Laura Collins-Hughes, in a Critic's Pick review for The New York Times, called "wondrous.

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