Bent

by Martin Sherman

Book Overview

Martin Sherman's worldwide hit play Bent took London by storm in 1979 when it was first performed by the Royal Court Theatre, with Ian McKellen as Max (a character written with the actor in mind). The play itself caused an uproar. "It educated the world," Sherman explains. "People knew about how the Third Reich treated Jews and, to some extent, gypsies and political prisoners. But very little had come out about their treatment of homosexuals." Gays...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380757540
• ISBN13: 9780380757541
• Release Date: January 1980
• Publisher: Avon Books
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.

Customer Reviews

oppression, confusion, torture and then love springs

This enduring play is a gripping, fascinating view of a sumptuous alternative lifestyle rum amok. Torturing oppression and purification of the Nazi party and Secret Police rip and tear in to the decadent , wild , elegant "gay" world of late Weimar Republic Berlin. Imprisonment, abundant hypocrisy, betrayal and mutilation end up in a wild chase for freedom by Max, a "gay" socialite and his lover. After they are captured, Max's soul is destroyed by Nazi interrogation and his will to survive increases. The climax and resolution echo the power of faith, love and friendship after pain, Nazi manipulation and knotted value systems are stripped away. Great for studio acting classes, any level of production.

Very moving and important work of the drama arts

Bent is a powerful play about the treatment of gays during the years that the Nazi powers controlled Germany. The play starts with two lovers who are arrested and sent to a concentration camp. There, one of the lovers dies. The survivor however continues to cling to an existence and meets another gay prisoner. They move rocks back and forth across a courtyard all day. The men fall in love, despite the fact that they are in a hopeless situation and are constantly guarded and watched as they gradually starve and are worked to death. The play shows us that love may emerge from the human spirit in even the most bleak of times and places. This drama is well written and very moving. It is an important piece of gay literature, dramatizing a terrible chapter in gay history that is often forgotten and hidden.

One of the most moving pieces of art I have ever experienced

If i could give it more stars i would. Two years ago I was fortunate enough to be a part of a production of this play. Everyone in the world knows of the treatment of the Jews in concentration camps during WWII. Little is known, however, of the treatment of homosexuals that lived and died next to Jews, political prisoners and criminals in these death camps. Martin Sherman sheds light onto this subject in this very chilling and in your face tale of love between two homosexuals in Dachau. You must read this play. It is very powerful and moving. It, along with the documentary Paragraph 175, has changed my life and the way I view alternative lifestyles past and present. Do yourself a favor and buy this play. You won't regret it.

READ THIS PLAY!!!!!!

This is probably one of the most important plays I have ever read. It is just about love surviving in the harshest of places. Don't believe the other review about the characters not being developed enough. They are. And the play is amazing. I understand the importance of it in gay literature, but that is not the reason that I feel its important. I just think it needs to be read. The idea that we can tell a person not to love FOR ANY REASON is unnacceptable. Just read it. It may change your life.

heart wrenching, emotional rollercoaster..

this book runs the gamut from joyous hedonism to the extreme visciousness of humankind. I cannot remember the last time I was so emotionally drawn in and captivated by such intelligent, breathing, living characters. This book is a powerful must read for anyone concerned with what makes humanity tick, and the absolute evil that seems so inherently possible. A love story that trancends all generations. This is proof that the human will is a miraculous thing.