The Doctor Who Hears Voices
Coming soon...
To be broadcast on Channel Four, 10.00pm, 21st April 2008
The Doctor Who Hears Voices
Drama documentary, 70mins Kudos/Ch4
Starring - Ruth Wilson & Rufus May
Director of Photography - Johann Perry
Sound Recordist - Mary Milton
Editor - David Hill
Director - Leo Regan
Dr Rufus May is a maverick psychologist.
He thinks madness is a good thing.
Last week Ruth Fielding came to see him for the first time.
Ruth’s a junior doctor who’s hearing a voice telling her to kill herself.
Most doctors would say Ruth is a danger to herself and others, and have her sectioned.
Rufus is different.
He doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with hearing voices.
Rufus May is one of the most controversial doctors working in the NHS today.
He thinks all mental hospitals should be shut down, there’s no such thing as schizophrenia and medication destroys lives.
He says we should learn to love mad people.
He does.
He was mad himself once.
To protect Ruth’s identity an actor is used to tell her story and some details have been changed.
Everything you see with Ruth is based on original transcripts, recorded over twelve months.
Everything else is documentary footage, filmed as it happened.
This is an unusual project where documentary and drama are used together. The documentary sections had been shot by director Leo Regan previously over a period of months. Drama reconstruction was used to protect the identity of the real "Ruth" here played by actress Ruth Wilson. Rufus May appears as himself across documentary and dramatised sections which gives real continuity to the piece.
