I am my own Blogger

Yesterday I went to see I Am My Own Wife at the Duke of York.

I'm not usually a theatre-goer, but as a tranny chaser I knew this would be for me.

It's the story of an American journalist and his trips to interview German transvestite Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a woman who allegedly killed her own father and then managed to survive oppression by both the Nazis and the communists. Not only looking after herself, but also preserving a gay community so that people still had a place to go and meet.

Jefferson Mays performs the play as a one man show, taking on no less than 34 different characters. His performance is incredible. Well, OK, so a couple of his accents are a bit dodgy, but not enough to detract from the drama.

There is just enough camp humour to lighten the story of domestic violence, barbaric Nazi attacks and homophobia, but not so much as to feel disrespectful.

Sadly, during the second half of the show we learn it's likely that Charlotte shopped one of her best friends in order to save her own skin after persecution by the police. Tut tut to that.

I'd felt so much affection towards her during the first half that it was a bit of a disappointment to find out she's probably a lying cow throughout the second.

Oh well, c'est la vie, I suppose.