The Elephant Song

by Nicolas Billon

An eminent psychiatrist has vanished from his office. The last person to have seen him is Michael, a troubled patient. Dr. Greenberg, the hospital director, is determined to question Michael, ignoring the head nurse's cryptic warnings. Michael speaks of elephants and opera—with the occasional hint of murder and foul play. Fraught with mind games and verbal tugs-of-war,  The Elephant Song  is a cat-and-mouse game that will keep you guessing until its haunting conclusion.

Genres: Plays

96 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2007

About the author

Nic writes for theatre, film, and television.

His work has been produced around the world and won over a dozen awards, including a Governor-General’s Award for Drama, a Canadian Screen Award, and a Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Award.

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short, but elegant play which engages the reader with verbal fencing and subterfuge between the main characters. The psychological duel between Dr. Greenberg and psychiatric patient Michael Aleen will keep you fascinated, and ultimately will pull you down the road to the wrong conclusion. The cryptic contributions by nurse Miss Peterson won't help you sort out what's really happening either. At 56 pages, I sat down and read the entire play all at once. If you like writing that keeps you thinking and engrossed in the story, this is for you.

I became aware of this play after reading a news release on the internet that it was about to become a movie, with filming starting in November 2013 in Montreal. The announced cast members are Bruce Greenwood, Catherine Keener, Carrie-Ann Moss, and Xavier Dolan. I'm not sure how the play will be expanded, but I look forward to seeing it on the big screen.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating, elliptical tale of a psychiatrist trying to get a manipulative mental patient explain what happened to the patient's regular doctor. This is a great little three-character piece with just one set. It's also a good source of acting scenes for two men or one man and one woman.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredibly well-crafted play.

[Alessandro D'Onofrio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Make it 3.5

Don't know how I feel about plays in general. This was pretty good, I really liked the middle part of it.
Can't wait to watch the movie, now.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the language, structure and suspense. Nicolas Billon is a clever writer; I look forward to seeing his more of his work on screen.