'' In the Next Room ( or The Vibrator Play ) '' is a 2009 play by Sarah Ruhl , published by Samuel French . It concerns the early history of the vibrator , when doctors allegedly used it as a clinical device to bring women to orgasm as treatment for " hysteria . " Other themes include Victorian ignorance of female sexual desire , motherhood , breastfeeding , and jealousy . The play was nominated for three 2010 Tony Awards
2010 Tony Awards
64th Tony Awards
In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)