Travesti, Pleasance Theatre

Six men assemble to say the words of women.Catch the London preview performances of this daring verbatim play that gives voice to real experiences before it transfers to Edinburgh. 

The Story...

When six attractive and besuited men step onto a stage, it’s more often for a Mamet drama but when these men open their mouths, they channel women such as Saraph: “ I suppose it is... I suppose it was like rape actually, because I was saying ‘no’ and it was still going on. ” Travesti theatre refers to players in disguise and in another meaning it describes a man who feels like a woman at heart.

At one moment jarring and disconcerting, and laugh-out-loud funny the next, this is a unique piece of writing: rape, dysmorphia, body hair and gender inequality are all discussed with the same consideration (and humour). Each accompanied by full length mirrors, the actors sing, talk, dance, and share their story with audience. The sometimes contentious subject is explored subtly and to an enlightening effect. By putting the stories of everyday sexism into the mouths of men, the play highlights the absurdity of the ‘does my bum look big in this’ complex and the horror of being followed home at night.

The Production...

Starting life at the Etcetera Theatre, audiences were won over by the performers.  Christopher Haydon, head of The Gate Theatre, described Travesti as “Sharp, witty, genuinely shocking at times.” The cast includes Dominic Attenborough (BBC’s Silk) and the outstanding Iain Batchelor who recently starred in the National’s Edward II and the RSC’s King John and Richard III. 

The show emerges from exciting young company Unbound Productions and is written and directed by Rebecca Hill, recently appointed to Director in Residence at the Almeida. “We wanted to make a feminist piece of theatre that looks like the women we know,” she says, “Sexy, playful, intelligent, and really funny. But it’s just as much for and about men too. We’re hoping that this could be a theatre voice that runs alongside campaigns such as Ending Victimisation, No More Page Three and Everyday Sexism.”