Martin Sherman’s play is credited with raising awareness about the Holocaust
Martin Sherman’s acclaimed play Bent made its debut on this day in 1979. The play dramatises the persecution of homosexuals under the Nazi regime in the 1930s and 1940s.
It follows several characters from the Night of the Long Knives in 1934 through their imprisonment at the Dachau concentration camp. The play is credited with raising awareness of the persecution of gay, lesbian and transgender people under the Nazi regime.
The play made its debut in London at the Royal Court Theatre before later transferring to the West End.
Sir Ian McKellen played one of the central characters, Max, while the role of Tom Bell played Horst – the man Maz falls in love with while in prison. Bell would later have a prominent role in the TV series Prime Suspect, opposite Helen Mirren where he played Sgt Bill Ottley.
When the play was staged on Broadway, Richard Gere took on the role of Max. The play has become an often performed work, a local production was stage in Adelaide in 2022.
It was also adapted into a film by director Sean Mathias in 1997. In the cinematic version Clive Owen played Max, and Lothaire Bluteau portrayed Horst. The film also included Paul Bettany, Rachael Weisz, Jude Law, and future Game of Thrones star Nikoaj Coster-Waldau. Ian McKellen also appears in the film playing the character of Uncle Freddy.
Playwright Martin Sherman has gone on to write many more works, and several films. He also wrote the 1997 queer film Alive and Kicking, as well as the 2005’s Mrs Henderson Presents and Callas Forever which he co-wrote with director Franco Zeffirelli.
Sherman also adapted the Australian musical The Boy From Oz when it made its journey from Australia to Broadway.
OIP Staff
