‘The Strange Case of Dr Dillon tells the remarkable story of the first trans man known to have medically transitioned, who became a pioneering doctor in his own right.’
The play takes us back to the 1940s by use of autobiographical-style narration. In quasi-biopic theatrical style, we begin in Michael’s youth. His protestations to his aunt about adhering to the societal expectations of girlhood, coupled with the endless desire to have a suggestive everything that his brother has, we learn quickly that Michael has always felt in some way different to how the world perceived him. We hurtle through the decades, following Michael to his life at Oxford, where he began to find the words that in some shape or form helped him understand himself a little bit better. We catapult through distinctive times in Michael’s life, witnessing his journey to becoming a truly reolutionary doctor, a mechanic, a navy man, undergoing the earliest forms of medical transition, and his calling to Bhuddist monasteries. Michael Dillon did everything we are told couldn’t have been possible: re-registering to be legally recognized as a man in the 1940s, cultivating a multifaceted career against the backdrop of World War II, and so much more. The context within which Dillon existed is as important as his life’s journey – we are consistently reminded of the historical attitudes of the time and the socio-political conditions wherein Dillon lived.
The Strange Case of Michael Dillon is an important story to tell as it flies in the face of the claim that gender queerness is a new phenomenon. Queer history is often erased and/or misunderstood, and queer stories are too seldom given the opportunity to be told. There is a long history of gender-affirming care. It serves those in power who wish to withhold these treatments to portray them as a fundamentally new and unhealthy exercise. This production demonstrates that gender-affirming treatments have been around longer than many common-place medical practices that we seldom bat an eyelid at, while simultaneasouly telling the story of a widely and incomprehensibly unknown historical figure.
The performances by Cloud Quinn as Michael Dillon and Kay Elúvian as a plethora of other characters carry the production with ease and certainty. Appearing in this year’s Camden Fringe at Camden People’s Theatre, The Strange Case of Dr Dillon will be on until 31 July.