Set in the 1880s at the dawn of the age of electricity and based on the bizarre historical fact that doctors used vibrators to treat ‘hysterical’ women (and some men), the play centers on a doctor and his wife and how his new therapy affects their entire household.

In a seemingly perfect, well-to-do Victorian home, proper gentleman and scientist Dr. Givings has innocently invented an extraordinary new device for treating “hysteria” in women (and occasionally men): the vibrator. Adjacent to the doctor’s laboratory, his young and energetic wife tries to tend to their newborn daughter—and wonders exactly what is going on in the next room. When a new “hysterical” patient and her husband bring a wet nurse and their own complicated relationship into the doctor’s home, Dr. and Mrs. Givings must examine the nature of their own marriage, and what it truly means to love someone.

In the Next Room (Or The Vibrator Play) premiered at Berkeley Rep and subsequently marked Sarah Ruhl’s Broadway debut, opening at the Lyceum Theatre on November 19th, 2009.

Performances: June 14 – 30, 2024

Fridays –  6/14, 6/21 & 6/28 at 8PM

Saturdays – 6/15, 6/22 & 6/29 at 8PM

Sundays – 6/16, 6/23 & 6/30 at 2PM

Please note: Patrons are recommended to wear masks at all times while in the theatre, and to remain at home if they’re experiencing any possible symptoms of COVID-19, or have been in recent close contact with somebody with COVID-19, at the time of the performance. Please find our COVID-19 policies here.