I Am My Own Wife is a one-man tour-de-force covering the life of East German transvestite, Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (nee Luther Berfelde.) It is superbly enacted by up-and-coming Canadian actor, Damien Atkins, who plays 35 different roles. Atkins is an incredible mimic and turns in a highly nuanced performance.
Alerted to the life of eccentric, East German transvestite Charlotte von Mahlsdorf by his boyhood friend, John Marks, Wright ran with the tip and began a series of personal interviews with Charlotte in 1993. She dared to be an open cross-dresser during two of the most conservative and oppressive regimes in recent history: the Nazis and the Communists. She had purchased and restored an old stone mansion which she converted to a museum housing her vast collection of antiques dating from 1890-1900, or as Charlotte said with a wink: "The gay nineties." The double entendre was not lost on the audience.
In the play, Charlotte wears a simple black peasant-type dress, pearls, and a black kerchief. She wears no make-up. In one scene depicting a fellow collector in his jail cell, Charlotte dresses as a man. During this character's monologue he disrobes and is seen wearing the black dress, pearls and kerchief underneath to once more become Charlotte.
Charlotte's basement contains the only remaining Weimar cabaret in Eastern Europe. For her preservation efforts, Charlotte is awarded an Order of Merit from the Cultural Ministry following the fall of the Berlin wall and the reunification of Germany. The presentation of this award is depicted in the play.
I Am My Own Wife ends with Charlotte winding one of her beloved gramophones and placing the needle on the disc. The audience hears a scratchy recording of an actual interview with Charlotte, capping a fascinating and highly entertaining evening of theater.
