It has been announced today that Harvey Fierstein’s play Casa Valentina will have it’s European premiere at the Southwark Playhouse within a day of the London premiere of his musical Kinky Boots at the Adelphi Theatre.
Set in 1962, in the picturesque Catskills mountains of New York, a group of heterosexual men escape from the City to spend their weekend dressed as women. In this cross dressing colony they leave their families, friends and city jobs behind to safely inhabit their female alter egos and release their inner woman. However when given the choice to share their secret lives with the world, the group have to decide whether the freedom gained by the openness is worth the personal risk.
Based on real–life events, this delightfully insightful and hilariously entertaining piece gives us a glimpse in to the life of these “self-made women” as they search for acceptance and happiness in a high heel.
Playwright Harvey Fierstein said today “Is there anything more dangerous than attempting to live an authentic life? Researching Casa Valentina I found that, were truth told, for the most everyday of us there is no normal. We are each complete individuals with our own specific ways in which we negotiate the world. Most of us disguise our individuality within gender, societal and religious role models. But those who dare to live their truth out in the light of day become the Christopher Columbuses of humanity.”
Casa Valentina re-unites producer, Paul Taylor-Mills, and director, Luke Sheppard: the producer and director team behind the smash hit In The Heights (Southwark Playhouse). Casa Valentina opens on 16 September, with previews from 10 September, and runs until 10 October.
Book tickets to Casa Valentina at Southwark Playhouse
Read our review of the Broadway production of Casa Valentina
