Plagiarism/

homage

When I saw this last week I was transported to Eastern Europe so I was thrilled to discover that it's where I was planning to spend two days this week, only 85 miles from home and only 20 minutes on a bus from my lunch in Castle Park with Firstborn.
Extra: more of Purdown's graffiti.

This evening we went to see the play Dr Semmelweis
SPOILER ALERT
about the Hungarian obstetrician who hypothesised 'cadaverous particles' (bacteria) and realised the importance of disinfecting hands to prevent puerperal fever. 

In the first half I thought the production was overwrought, and I was distracted by the dancers around the actors but they made more sense as Semmelweis's discoveries were rejected and mocked and he gradually descended into mental illness - an impressively convincing transition by Mark Rylance.

Astonishingly, this play about how handwashing prevents illness was conceived before the pandemic.