Eve tells the story of a child raised as a boy, when she knew all along that was wrong.
That child grew up to be one of the 10 outstanding women in Scotland in 2017.
What does that do to our understanding of what it is to be human in times
of revolutionary change?
With trans rights again under threat, legendary playwright, performer, father and grandmother Jo Clifford tells a story both gentle and passionate, intimate and political, to remind us that the journey towards our real selves is one we all need to make.
Wherever it leads us…
Eve will leave you pondering the absurdity and struggle of others who are not free to live as who they identify as (and where doing so can put them at risk of torture and death) and our need for greater acceptance and open debate in a united world, where anyone is able to live free from fear and from shame.
Clifford makes it clear early on this is never going to be a story of a suffering boy who achieves a happy ending. Instead, it is something much more layered and much more real, with an inclusive warmth that conceals a fierce core.
As she moves through her life, as with much of her writing, the text is laced with a spiritual understanding of what it means to transform and transcend the urge within. Neither purging or confessional, Clifford has laid bare a very necessary telling of truths.
For those seeking lucid and emotive storytelling, it's a worthwhile and movingly evocative depiction of someone now at peace with the woman she struggled to be, after years of being ostracised.
Effective in its simplicity.
It’s a story that is gradually becoming more familiar in this decade; but Jo Clifford is one of its great trail-blazers, and to hear her own history, in her own voice, is a privilege, as well as a tremendously moving experience.
Told with such passion and honesty, Jo Clifford emotive and poetic storytelling stays with you long after the show has ended.
Eve is simple, emotionally engaging storytelling.
Citizens' Theatre, Glasgow from Thursday September 14, 2017, until Saturday September 16, 2017. More info: www.citz.co.uk
Dundee Rep Theatre, Dundee from Thursday May 24, 2018, until Saturday May 26, 2018. More info: www.dundeereptheatre.co.uk
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