How theatre is transitioning in Jon Brittain's Rotterdam

Directed by Donnacadh O’Briain, this topical drama explores the romantic, political and social implications of transitioning when in a relationship, while also challenging the absence of transgender stories in pop culture.

The setting is New Year in Rotterdam, where Alice has finally plucked up the courage to email her parents to tell them she is gay. Before she can hit "send", however, her girlfriend Fiona reveals he has always identified as male and wants to start living as a man named Adrian. Now, as Adrian confronts the reality of his transition, Alice faces a question she never thought she would ask: does this mean she is straight?

Trans non-binary actor Lucy Jane Parkinson stars as Fiona/Adrian, playing opposite Bethan Cullinane as Alice in a four-hander completed by trans actor Elijah W Harris and Ellie Morris, who returns to the show from its London cast.

Trans non-binary actor Lucy Jane Parkinson as Fiona/Adrian in Rotterdam

Parkinson has joined the company for this spring's tour. "I saw a version on tape, and obviously I was drawn by the content of the play, the people it's trying to represent. Being non-binary myself, I find it interesting that it's not focusing on 'the tragedy of transitioning'," says Lucy.

"Those shows that say, 'hey, we're suffering' have now made way for us to have a different platform on a mid-scale tour and that wouldn't have happened without those stories. Rotterdam doesn't address the subject so weightily."

Parkinson had reached a moment in life where decisions needed to be made. "People were putting words on me that I wasn't comfortable with, and for me, the best place to be is no fixed place," says Lucy.

"I don't mind which pronouns are used. They're not something that triggers me. I don't mind being called either because I have both traits. I don't have one binary preference or another. But I also felt that it was flipping my head; it was devouring me, when I didn't have the answer and I still don't. I'm in my 30s now and I feel there are bigger things for me to be focusing on."

Bethan Cullinane as Alice in Rotterdam

The arts world was Parkinson's natural destination. "I can use my energy differently. Arts has always been my home, but getting my feet through the door when I came into acting, there were certain looks that men and women had to have. Instead, I looked at post-modernism, learning ways of creating theatre, so I was glad to be part of that group of performers, and now I'm back in this world. I just had to wait for the world to catch up," says Lucy.

"Theatre has this great potential to move people and their way of thinking. By putting this new outlook on sexuality on stage has allowed this conversation to begin among people it might not have had a first-hand effect on before. It changes minds."

Parkinson believes humour is a potent weapon in Rotterdam's armoury. "Comedy opens it up to more people. If a play is just intense, they will shut down, if they don't feel included, but if it's funny, they will enjoy it," says Lucy.

"If you use comedy in drama, when you hit those hard notes of exposition, it hits so much harder, but not a slap in the face, and because you have laughter two minutes before, it's an even bigger drop, but people come through the tragedy with a comic face on. It's a coping mechanism."

Trans actor Elijah W Harris in Rotterdam

How would Parkinson want the world to change? "I would just wish some people could react in a more relaxed way.

"There's no rush; you will spend the rest of your life learning who you are, so you don't need to worry intensely about where you fit in," Lucy says.

Ideally, it should come down to how someone presents themselves, not what they present, suggests Parkinson: "It's about not needing to put labels on people but letting them be who they are."

Rotterdam, York Theatre Royal, April 11 to 13, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.