UK Premiere of BOY Announced At Edinburgh Fringe

From the writer and director of critically acclaimed Us/Them (Fringe First winner 2016) comes an extraordinary true story exploring gender, identity and abuse of power.

Bruce Reimer was born right before his identical twin Brian on the 22 of August 1965 in Winnipeg, Canada. In 1966, the Reimer twins are taken into hospital by their young parents to be circumcised. The procedure goes wrong and baby Bruce loses his penis.

After consulting with Dr. Money at Johns Hopkins University, the parents agree to raise Bruce as a girl. From the age of two Bruce goes through life as Brenda. She doesn't know the truth, but from a very young age, Brenda senses that something is just not right. Interrogating what it means to be trapped in the wrong body, Boy follows in the footsteps of Carly Wijs Fringe hit Us/Them which brought to the stage the tragedy of the 2004 Beslan school siege. Boy (performed as Jongen in Belgium) has been selected from over 400 shows as one of the highlights of Belgium's Het Theater Festival.

Carly Wijs said "Our play is, maybe even most importantly, the story of two young parents trying their best to navigate a tragedy in a modern world. Without modern techniques, their tragedy would not have happened, but without accidents there is no progress. It is very difficult to view and evaluate our times while we are still living it. But looking back we see how much we have evolved since then."

TEATERi was founded in 1997 by several professional actors and directors in Jönköping, Sweden with different national backgrounds. The group produces several shows a year for young audiences ranging between 6 and 19 years old but that also appeals to a wider audience. The repertoire is decided by a Repertory Council led by Artistic Directors Christian Arin and Vera Veljovic.

De Roovers were founded in 1994 as a collective of actors that produce repertory theatre and plays that they consider to be of importance. Photographer and set and light designer Stef Stessel has been part of this collective and one of the original founders. In 2021 the Roovers were part of the London Greenwich+ Docklands international festival with their acclaimed version of Blue remembered hills by Dennis Potter.

Carly Wijs has written and created plays, and has performed as a film and theatre actress with Wim Vandekeybus/Ultima Vez, Guy Cassiers, Josse De Pauw, De Roovers, KOPERGIETERY, Muziektheater Transparant et al. Her productions have toured internationally. She is regularly invited to be a guest lecturer at the RITS and P.A.R.T.S. (both in Brussels). Her first novel, The Doubtexperiment, was published in May 2016 and nominated for the Flemish debut prize, The Bronze Owl. Her play Us/Them won a Fringe First at the 2016 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and transferred to The National Theatre, London, in 2017.

Main Hall, Summerhall, Summerhall Pl, Edinburgh EH9 1PL (Venue 26)

5 - 28 Aug (not 15 & 22), 11.30 (12.30)

www.summerhall.co.uk | 0131 5601580