MY MARLENE Comes to Edinburgh Fringe

In a bold act of creative defiance, Transforma Theatre is proud to announce the world premiere of My Marlene, a provocative one-woman show about the cross-dressing, bisexual icon Marlene Dietrich, at the renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The production will run July 31st to August 17th at Assembly Checkpoint, with a prime-time slot of 7:40 PM.

Presented as a passionate response to the current global rise in authoritarianism-including ongoing attacks on trans rights, women's autonomy, and democratic values-My Marlene is more than a tribute. It's a defiant celebration of a woman who embodied resistance, both in her art and in her life.

Starring award-winning writer and performer Tjaša Ferme and directed by Ana Margineanu-hailed as "one of the reigning queens of New York's highly intimate, one-shot-only, conceptual-based theater"-this immersive confessional experience transforms the audience into the Allied soldiers Dietrich once entertained during WWII. At once glamorous and gritty, heroic and vulnerable, Dietrich's life unfolds with poetic power and political urgency.

My Marlene dives into the contradictions that made Dietrich a legend: a selfless war hero, an elegant housefrau in tuxedo tails, a romantic with a parade of lovers, and a gender-fluid icon who wore masculinity and femininity interchangeably-both on and off screen. With evocative nods to German Expressionism and the decadence of Weimar cabaret, the show features period songs dripping with cynicism and allure, encapsulating Dietrich's timeless role as a performer, provocateur, and pioneer of erotic resistance.

Ferme and Margineanu previously collaborated on Wild Child in the City, which toured Europe extensively and won multiple international awards. Their acclaimed work The Female Role Model Project was named one of the "23 Shows Not to Miss at Edinburgh Fringe" and called "the vanguard of performing arts" by Everything Theatre.

Before heading to Edinburgh, My Marlene will preview in New York City at the beloved cabaret venue Pangea, as part of its Pride lineup on June 18th and 19th at 9:30 PM.