Are you well enough to catch Pattingham Drama’s latest comedy?

The Hypochondriac, or Le Malade Imaginaire was Molière’s last play. It was first performed on 10 February 1673, with Moliere himself playing the leading role of Argan, The Hypochondriac. On 17 February 1673, according to legend, Molière began feeling ill during the performance, collapsed, was revived and, after the performance was carried home, where he died, probably of Tuberculosis.

Pattingham Drama, however, will be performing the modern adaptation by Roger McGough, which was first performed in 2009 at the Liverpool Playhouse. The play, humorously addresses the subject of hypochondria, as well as ridiculing the “Quack” medical profession, rampant at the time. It speaks of a time where Medicine was a business where the crafty Doctor could make a fortune, with the unscrupulous charlatans that peddled their Snake Oil cures and preyed on the gullible. The play is a classic and hilarious comedy, a most enjoyable romp through the vicissitudes of hypochondria and its sometimes, preposterous consequences - a very different show, not to be missed.

Argan, a perfectly healthy and very wealthy gentleman, is convinced that he is seriously ill. So obsessed is he with tonics and potions, doctors, and procedures, that he is blind to the goings on in his own home. However, the most efficacious cure will not appear in a bottle or a bedpan, but in his sharp-tongued servant who has devised a cunning plan to reveal the truth and open her master’s eyes.

This amateur production will be performed by Pattingham Drama Group at Pattingham Village Hall from May 13 to 16, commencing at 7.30pm. Tickets at £12 are available online at ticketsource.co.uk/pattingham-drama or on 0333 666 4466.