The Doctor’s Dilemma: every role by lines, words, and stage time

George Bernard Shaw. 17 speaking roles, 24,918 words, about 178 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Ridgeon has the most to say in The Doctor’s Dilemma: about 623 lines and 4,697 words, 18.8% of the play. The Doctor’s Dilemma follows a doctor who must choose whether to save a gifted but dishonest artist or a decent, ordinary colleague. Ridgeon has the largest part, close to a fifth of the words, and speaks in every act. B.B. and Mrs. Dubedat, called Jennifer in Act 5, come next, while Louis speaks only in Acts 2 to 4.

Speaking roles: 17
Scenes: 5
Words: 24,918
Speech time: 178 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Ridgeon	623	4,697	18.8%	33.6	5
B.B.	481	4,256	17.1%	30.4	4
Mrs. Dubedat	461	3,821	15.3%	27.3	5
Louis	434	3,718	14.9%	26.6	3
Sir Patrick	360	2,886	11.6%	20.6	4
Walpole	251	1,978	7.9%	14.1	4
Blenkinsop	111	982	3.9%	7.0	2
Schutzmacher	92	783	3.1%	5.6	2
Emmy	92	733	2.9%	5.2	1
The Maid	37	296	1.2%	2.1	1
The Newspaper Man	28	220	0.9%	1.6	1
Redpenny	33	209	0.8%	1.5	1
The Secretary	20	156	0.6%	1.1	1
Mrs. Dubebat	12	120	0.5%	0.9	1
Mrs. Dudebat	4	30	0.1%	0.2	1
The Gentleman	2	15	0.1%	0.1	1
Waiter	1	2	0%	0.0	1

Who speaks in which scene

Darker cells mean more words in that scene. Use it to plan rehearsal calls, or to see how long an actor waits between entrances.

Role	Act 1	Act 2	Act 3	Act 4	Act 5
Ridgeon
B.B.
Mrs. Dubedat
Louis
Sir Patrick
Walpole
Blenkinsop
Schutzmacher
Emmy

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Mrs. Dubedat: “I didn’t want to waste myself. I could do noth…”	Act 3	309	31
B.B.: “Quite so. Well now, look at my practice. It is…”	Act 3	308	31
B.B.: “Well, obviously, if the bacillus is the genuin…”	Act 1	220	23
B.B.: “Blenkinsop: there is nothing that cannot be ex…”	Act 1	219	22
Sir Patrick: “I know your Cutler Walpoles and their like. Th…”	Act 1	195	20
B.B.: “What! Ridgeon: did you hear that? Sir Patrick:…”	Act 1	191	20
B.B.: “Walpole has no intellect. A mere surgeon. Wond…”	Act 1	176	18
Schutzmacher: “Not at all. Personally, I like Englishmen bett…”	Act 2	171	18
B.B.: “But then, what are many of my patients? Viciou…”	Act 3	165	17
Louis: “Then you must always wear beautiful dresses an…”	Act 4	163	17

Small roles that can be doubled

These pairs of small roles never speak in the same scene, so one actor could play both. Check entrances and silent appearances in your script before you cast it this way.

Blenkinsop and The Newspaper Man
Blenkinsop and The Secretary
Blenkinsop and Mrs. Dubebat
Blenkinsop and Mrs. Dudebat
Schutzmacher and The Newspaper Man
Schutzmacher and The Secretary
Schutzmacher and Mrs. Dubebat
Schutzmacher and Mrs. Dudebat
Emmy and The Maid
Emmy and The Newspaper Man
Emmy and The Secretary
Emmy and Mrs. Dubebat

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in The Doctor’s Dilemma?

Ridgeon, with about 623 lines and 4,697 words, 18.8% of everything spoken in the play. B.B. is next, with about 481 lines (17.1%).

How long is The Doctor’s Dilemma?

The full text has 24,918 spoken words, about 178 minutes at 140 words a minute before pauses, scene changes, and cuts. Most productions cut the text, so running times vary.

How many speaking roles are in The Doctor’s Dilemma?

17 named roles speak in this edition, across 5 scenes. 8 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.