Monday, January 1, 2018

I Am My Own Wife

I Am My Own Wife A Play by Doug Wright
2004
Weight: 5.4 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating


The subject this play was based on was ridiculously interesting--so interesting that I would argue that Wright could not totally fail unless he were to totally attack and demean her.  That is something it sounds like he would never do.  He clearly found her enchanting.  Not that the language used is super transpositive, but he exuded respect and fascination. 

The subject is Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a transwoman who managed to survive Nazi Germany and the Stasi.  Not only did she survive it, but she was able to maintain her identity and took some incredible risks to preserve history, to collect, and to do what she enjoyed most.  She owned and ran the Gründerzeit Museum.  In 1997 she moved to Sweden stating that Berlin was too dangerous, but she went back for a visit in 2002 and died of a heart attack in the city she called home for so long.

Now, tell me that in itself is not a story you want to know more about.  I am not sure I was as keen on the play as I was her, but I do imagine it was a hard one to write and to boil down to such few pages.

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