by Gina Moxley
Inspired by the 1965 films Three Approaches To Psychotherapy (The Gloria films), The Patient Gloria is a provocative meditation on therapy and female desire.
In a political context where misogyny is the winning ticket, Gina Moxley re-examines the canon of psychotherapy with an upfront mash-up of re-enactment, lived experience and feminist punk gig.
It's an experimental extravaganza. And it's therapeutic. It's very therapeutic.
Recommended by Amanda
"Gloria was a real woman who was interviewed on camera by three of the 'fathers of psychology' for therapist training purposes in 1963. In 1964, these tapes, dubbed The Gloria Films, were publicly released... without Gloria's consent. Here, Gloria is patient, perhaps long after she should be, morphing between the historical persona and the voice of Moxley herself, who portrays the four male therapists responsible for Gloria's 'treatment'. Rightfully angry, and with a special appearance from a crochet phallus, The Patient Gloria provokes interrogation into ownership of narrative and how seriously we take duty of care."
Every purchase you make from the National Theatre Bookshop helps fund the vital work of The National Theatre. Whether that's putting new work on stages across the world or supporting our outreach and learning programmes, every purchase you make really does make a difference.
