A Few Words about
Transgender? Shakespeare!
Just how can a father understand when his child announces their gender identity is wrong?
They both need to a common language so they can engage and communicate properly.
Enter William Shakespeare!
A one person play, done with love.
Being a parent and being able to communicate with one’s children is difficult at the best of times.
When children insist on communicating through mobile phones and computers, using texts, memes, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the like, instead of talking and discussion, it is hardly ever successful. What happened to the good old English language?
When a child announces their gender identity is wrong and they intend on changing, things become a whole lot more challenging.
One is overwhelmed by new thoughts, new concepts, new attitudes, new feelings, new situations, new genders, new emotions, new lives, new names, new highs, new lows, new words, new languages, a whole new learning trip, a completely new way of looking at life, a newly changed family, new attitudes.
How does a parent, a father cope?
How does a father manage to communicate with his child, with his family, with his friends and neighbours?
Are his language skills up to it?
From whom does he get help?
Can one of the greatest wordsmiths in the English language help?
Follow this father on his journey as he finds both himself and his child.
A play done with humour and love.
Written by Rory and Simon Waterfield and performed by Simon Waterfield.
At Putney Library at 8pm on Friday 14th June 2024 and Thursday 20th June 2024.
Video
The play has been adapted for video which can be seen here
It was presented to the monthly meeting of Families Together London in January 2025 and was well received!
www.familiestogetherlondon.com
“Thank you for your most entertaining and thought-provoking presentation to FTL on Saturday and for wanting to share the video more widely.”
“So far all the feedback has been very positive and I think you hit on a few nerves that we’ve all experienced.”
I would be happy to attend meetings of any Trans related groups either in person or on Zoom with the video and talk about it to your group.
Reviews from previous performance at the Brighton Fringe
Brighton Argus 3 Star review of first night
How do we communicate nowadays? We seem to constantly be on various bits of technology instead of talking to one another in person. With that in mind, how can a father communicate with his millennial child? Let alone his millennial child who is transgender?
With a little help from the Bard, Simon and Rory Waterfield explore one another’s worlds with musical accompaniment from the Grateful Dead and Against Me.
This personal, emotional play is mostly monologue from Simon, a father trying to understand the transition Rory is going through and what it means in the modern age. Meanwhile, Rory sits on stage on his phone reacting in typical sarcastic teenage fashion and, at the end, finally converses with his father.
The play was a personal journey for the pair and Simon told me how difficult it was to convince Rory, who is staunchly private, to participate.
Whilst there were issues it was still powerful and moving.
The small audience could feel the deep connection between the two and the communicative issues hit home for my own relationship with my parents.
Audience comments
Transgendered Shakespeare was moving @GinnySanderson
Its fantastic for the subject matter to be in this medium
Very powerful production
Well done Rory it took me 55 years to come out
Loved the use of Shakespeare as a trans gender issue
Fabulous hearing it in Rorys words
