Image Credit: Chris Jepson

The story of Michael Dillon undergoing gender affirming care in the mid 1900s is a fascinating and deeply intriguing one, being brought to life by Bramble Theatre Art in their latest showing of The Strange Case of Dr Dillon. Performed and produced by an all-trans creative team at a desperately pertinent time for gender affirming care, the piece will again take to the stage in Brighton next weekend.

We caught up with both writer-performer Cloud Quinn, who plays Michael in the piece, and performer Kay Elúvian who plays a rotation of characters in this two-hander. Join us for a pixelated pint as we delve into the show and Dillon’s story.

You can catch The Strange Case of Dr Dillon at The Actors Theatre Pub in Brighton on Saturday 15th February at 7:30pm. Tickets are available online here.

Jake: Hi team – your show follows the life of Michael Dillon. Could you tell our readers a little about his story, and why you’ve decided to tell it on stage?

Cloud: Michael is believed to have been the first trans man to medically transition with the assistance of Sir Harold Gillies, the father of plastic surgery. Other doctors also prescribed testosterone in pill form. He went on to qualify as a doctor and serve in the merchant navy as a ship’s surgeon, travelling all over the world. After years of happiness in “stealth” mode, he was outed by the Sunday Express and fled to India, where he is believed to have been the first white European to be ordained as a novice Buddhist monk.

Over the past few years, trans people have experienced a highly public, dehumanising “debate” as to whether our identities are valid and whether we should be able to access gender affirming healthcare. Michael’s story of transition in 1940’s England firmly refutes the claim that trans identities are a fad or that gender affirming care is “experimental”. His wider journey also highlights that transition is just one part of trans existence; we can and do achieve extraordinary things.

Jake: The show is a two-hander produced by an all-trans creative team. Tell us about the process of translating Michael’s story to the stage as a group,

Cloud: I initially planned a one-man storytelling play about Michael’s incredible life, but the other characters he encountered, including Sir Harold Gillies and Roberta Cowell, are so fascinating that I couldn’t help but write them in, too! Fortunately, my co-star Kay Elúvian is extremely adept at creating nuanced characters, and her multi-role performance was highly praised by reviewers and audience members on our initial run at the Camden Fringe last August.

Kay: Cloud took Michael’s story and fleshed it out into a wonderful drama full of characters, successes and tragedies. His work really says something, and what it has to say is more relevant now than ever.

Jake: You mention in publicising the show that Dillon’s practice has shaped Trans healthcare in the present day. What legacy do you hope the show might leave behind, and how do you hope the audience feel walking away from it all?

Cloud: Gender affirming care has arguably always been available to cis people before trans people; Michael received testosterone therapy after it had been prescribed to cis men with testosterone deficiency, double mastectomy after it had perfected as a cure for breast cancer, and phalloplasty after Dr Gillies had developed the technique to restore organs injured in World War 2. Politicians are currently struggling to justify the contradictory belief that puberty blockers are safe to prescribe to cis children who experience very early puberty, but not to trans adolescents. I hope following Michael on his journey will help audiences feel the empowering effect of this vital healthcare and spark them to find out more about trans history as well as our present struggles.

Kay: That none of what we see today is new, these are all fights that have been stirred before – both in analogy, with gay and lesbian rights, and in actuality with the transphobic position of the UK and US governments. Fringe positions 5 years ago are now policy. We’ve been here before and we need to put this ghost back into the grave where it belongs. I hope the show puts this struggle in an accessible historical context.

Jake: Tell us how the show has developed into being performed at The Actors Theatre Pub in Brighton.

Cloud: We have added a couple of new scenes designed to better pace the second half of the show and provide more context as to Michael’s journey into Buddhism. The Actors is a renowned queer fringe venue and we’re so excited to perform the show there!

Kay: The Actors is just the most delightful venue – even the washroom graffiti is cool! After our run at the Camden Fringe last year, Cloud took constructive feedback on the pacing of the story and has rebalanced it a little: we spend more time with Michael both before going to Ladakh and after.

Jake: Given the themes of Binge Fringe, if your show was a beverage of any kind (alcoholic, non-alcoholic – be as creative as you like!), what would it be and why?

Cloud: As our company is called ‘Bramble Theatre Art’, a bramble cocktail always feels appropriate! However, Michael himself favoured a glass of Irish whiskey.

Kay: Something that both delights and has depth… maybe a Daiquiri?

You can catch The Strange Case of Dr Dillon at The Actors Theatre Pub in Brighton on Saturday 15th February at 7:30pm. Tickets are available online here.