Reviews for The Doctor's Dilemma

The average rating for The Doctor's Dilemma based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-02-13 00:00:00 Toni Caceres Most of this play is, to be honest, nothing special, but it has one of the best death scenes I know. Louis Dubedat, a talented but morally bankrupt artist, is about to breathe his last: LOUIS. Don't grieve, Walpole. I'm perfectly happy. I'm not in pain. I don't want to live. I've escaped from myself. I'm in heaven, immortal in the heart of my beautiful Jennifer. I'm not afraid, and not ashamed. [Reflectively, puzzling it out for himself weakly] I know that in an accidental sort of way, struggling through the unreal part of life, I havn't always been able to live up to my ideal. But in my own real world I have never done anything wrong, never denied my faith, never been untrue to myself. I've been threatened and blackmailed and insulted and starved. But I've played the game. I've fought the good fight. And now it's all over, there's an indescribable peace. [He feebly folds his hands and utters his creed] I believe in Michael Angelo, Velasquez, and Rembrandt; in the might of design, the mystery of color, the redemption of all things by Beauty everlasting, and the message of Art that has made these hands blessed. Amen. Amen. [He closes his eyes and lies still]. MRS DUBEDAT [breathless] Louis: are you-- [Walpole rises and comes quickly to see whether he is dead.] LOUIS. Not yet, dear. Very nearly, but not yet. I should like to rest my head on your bosom; only it would tire you. MRS DUBEDAT. No, no, no, darling: how could you tire me? [She lifts him so that he lies on her bosom]. LOUIS. That's good. That's real. MRS DUBEDAT. Don't spare me, dear. Indeed, indeed you will not tire me. Lean on me with all your weight. LOUIS [with a sudden half return of his normal strength and comfort] Jinny Gwinny: I think I shall recover after all. [Sir Patrick looks significantly at Ridgeon, mutely warning him that this is the end]. MRS DUBEDAT [hopefully] Yes, yes: you shall. LOUIS. Because I suddenly want to sleep. Just an ordinary sleep. MRS DUBEDAT [rocking him] Yes, dear. Sleep. [He seems to go to sleep. Walpole makes another movement. She protests]. Sh--sh: please don't disturb him. [His lips move]. What did you say, dear? [In great distress] I can't listen without moving him. [His lips move again; Walpole bends down and listens]. WALPOLE. He wants to know is the newspaper man here. THE NEWSPAPER MAN [excited; for he has been enjoying himself enormously] Yes, Mr Dubedat. Here I am. [Walpole raises his hand warningly to silence him. Sir Ralph sits down quietly on the sofa and frankly buries his face in his handkerchief.] MRS DUBEDAT [with great relief] Oh that's right, dear: don't spare me: lean with all your weight on me. Now you are really resting. [Sir Patrick quickly comes forward and feels Louis's pulse; then takes him by the shoulders.] SIR PATRICK. Let me put him back on the pillow, ma'am. He will be better so. MRS DUBEDAT [piteously] Oh no, please, please, doctor. He is not tiring me; and he will be so hurt when he wakes if he finds I have put him away. SIR PATRICK. He will never wake again. [He takes the body from her and replaces it in the chair. Ridgeon, unmoved, lets down the back and makes a bier of it]. MRS DUBEDAT [who has unexpectedly sprung to her feet, and stands dry-eyed and stately] Was that death? WALPOLE. Yes. MRS DUBEDAT [with complete dignity] Will you wait for me a moment? I will come back. [She goes out].

Review # 2 was written on 2009-08-26 00:00:00 Jason Santiago This is a play by the literary giant George Bernard Shaw. Shaw was of course a advocate of liberal and socialist thought. He was also a good friend and sparring partner with one of my favorites, G.K. Chesterton. This play is about a doctor who has recently been knighted for his development of a cure of Tuberculosis. He has only enough time and resources to take on one more patient, and he is faced with the decision to cure a good but poor medical colleague or a talented artist who is a bit of a con-artist. The play is comic and demonstrates his humor (or humour since he's British) and wit, but touches on very serious themes of morality, medical ethics, and socialized health care. Basically, what is pictured in this play are doctor's who are driven, not by patient care but by self-interest and profitability. Thus, it is a kind of indictment against capitalistic health-care systems. And for that reason, it feels as if it is as relevant today as it was originally in 1906. I think you will enjoy it, even if ultimately you don't subscribe to its worldview. (I listed to this as an audiobook performed by the L.A. Theater Co. I recommend it.)