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| Bent
November 5-15, 2009 @ Espace 4001 By: Maha |
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| When Martin Sherman's "Bent" first came out in 1979 it broke all kinds of barriers. It celebrated love between men and also behind the backdrop of suffering and horror there is plenty of gay pride. At one point in the play a character asks "What is wrong with it?" Thirty years ago that statement was considered very shocking, but it is a different story today and director Carolyn Fe has to deal with a 'different' audience. Max awakens after a night of partying and drinking not really able to remember what went on. He and his boyfriend Rudy try to piece together the night. This is not an unusual situation as Max will often do drugs, become the life of the party and then not remember a thing. In the midst of their discussion a third man walks out of the bedroom. Apparently Max has had sex with him. Suddenly there is banging on the door and a Nazi soldier is there. The man who Max brought home, who turns out to be a German soldier himself, is killed. Max and Rudy barely escape with their lives. Max and Rudy head to a gay club where they meet a drag queen. He explains to the two men that the Nazi's are beginning to round up homosexuals. Berlin is not safe for homosexuals and they should leave. The two men are living in a forest, don't have proper papers and are on the run. Max's uncle Freddie, who is also gay, tries to help as he gets Max some new papers and a ticket to Amsterdam, but Max, out of a sense of obligation, will not leave his boyfriend. Max and Rudy are eventually caught by the Gestapo. Rudy is sent off to a concentration camp with a pink triangle affixed to his uniform. He never makes it as he dies after being beaten to death by soldiers and then Max while in transit. With his last breath he utters Max's name. Max, thinking himself smart, tries to prove that he is not gay by having sex with the body of a dead Jewish girl. He is still sent to Dachau, but he gets a yellow star (indicating he is a Jew) on his prisoner uniform. On the trip transporting him to the camp, Max meets a man named Horst, who is not impressed with the fact that Max denied that he is gay to the Nazis. Horst and Max are assigned to work together hauling rocks from one place to another. The job is meant to drive the men mad, but it has the opposite effect with Horst and Max as they grow close. Horst teaches Max that there is a certain dignity in knowing what you are. During one of the breaks they get every two hours, where they are forced to stand side by side without touching or even looking at each other, the two men talk each other to orgasm. Amazingly enough, amidst this horrible situation love has bloomed between these two men. Though love has been found in this the darkest of places it is not meant to be and you hold your breath knowing that all will not end well for Max and Horst. An important play that exposed the prejudice and violence that was directed at homosexuals by the Nazis in Germany. During World War II this persecution increased to horrifying levels. A light is shone on a part of the Holocaust that we really haven't heard much about before this. The oppression and general ignoring of gay history continues to be a problem even today. Humanity in all its facets is explored in the film. As an oppressed people the idea of reclaiming your humanity is an important one in the gay community. Max has to closet himself to survive but in doing this he is reinforcing the idea that homosexuality is wrong and denying a large part of himself at the same time. At the end of the play when he grabs dead love's shirt complete with the pink triangle it is a very symbolic moment. Max, a gay man, is reclaiming his sexuality and letting go of the shame and fear he previously felt about it. Man's inhumanity to man comes through in glaring fashion. But right alongside that message is one about how man seems to be able to find light in the darkest of situations. Somehow the characters of Horst and Max are able to bend but not break. They are able to find love amidst the torture and deplorable conditions. The power of love is still able to bring humanity to this inhumane environment. The urgent human need for survival is portrayed through the character of Max. He is someone who is willing to do anything to stay alive. Max will have sex with a corpse, beat up his own boyfriend, perform oral sex on a prison guard for medicine for Horst, and even deny who he is. What we, any of us, would do for survival is something you walk away from this play pondering. The emotional impact that this play has cannot be denied. All throughout the play you will feel emotions like disbelief, shock, belief, and not being able to relate. The emotions keep coming at a steady pace right up until the 'shocking' finale. It a powerful 2 hours that will have everyone, no matter what they thought of the nuts and bolts of the play, coming out of it having learned things and been moved. Additional Information: -Website: www.alteravitae.com -Venue: 4001 Berri -Ticket Purchase: (514) 823-8823 -Ticket Prices: Adult: $20.00 Students/Seniors: $18.00 Groups of 10 or More: $15.00/person November 7+8 Matinees: $20.00 for 2 people -Show Times: November 5-8 and November 10-14: 8:00 p.m. November 7, 8, 14, 15: 2:00 p.m. | ||||||||||||||
