‘A brilliant example of what a memoir ought to be.’

ALAN CUMMING

Acclaimed playwright Martin Sherman takes us on a journey from 1930s New Jersey, where he was born into a Jewish immigrant family, to 1970s Broadway—for the premier of his seminal play Bent starring Richard Gere.

En route, we stop off in Woodstock, Los Angeles and London—a city Martin would make home—and encounter celebrities including Meryl Streep, Bee Gees and Joan Baez, but the scene-stealing character is his father—a charismatic narcissist who might have given Trump a run for his money.

Sherman is a constantly delightful companion, sharing his struggles—under the shadow of an inheritable disease that killed his mother tragically early, with his sexuality, and to make it in theatre—with candour and self-deprecating humour.

Martin Sherman was born in Philadelphia, raised in New Jersey and educated at Boston University. He has lived in London for over forty years. His plays have been produced in over sixty countries and include Passing By, Cracks, Rio Grande, Bent, Messiah, When She Danced, A Mad House in Goa, Some Sunny Day, Rose, Onassis and Gently Down the Stream. His stage adaptations include E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India, and he wrote the Broadway musical The Boy From Oz. Martin’s screenplays include The Clothes in the Wardrobe, Alive and Kicking, Bent, Callas Forever, The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone and Mrs Henderson Presents. He has been nominated for two Tonys, two BAFTAS and two Oliviers.