Linck & Mülhahn

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The same goes for the punk music, which comes across as a loud, on-the-nose reminder that the content of the play is supposed to be rebellious, subversive and provocative, when in reality, strong performances from the cast alone are enough to detail the breadth of feeling on the issue of gender at the time, and the bravely defiant acts of some in an otherwise restrictive society. It is as much a compliment (in terms of it being like Charlie Josephine’s phenomenal production) as it is a criticism (regarding its lacking uniqueness). They were ultimately tried for sodomy, and this could easily be one of those depressing stories that queer history books are littered with, the ones where people dare to be different and then get crushed by conventional society’s peppermill.

It’s a metaphor for religion, gender and conventional morality, but an unfortunate one in a play full of stray threads. Even in moments of silence in the courtroom scenes, a single stare from them at whoever is in the dock conveys so much, and it’s absolutely fascinating to witness. Anastasius Linck was assigned female gender at birth but became a soldier, a tradesman and husband to Catharina Mülhahn.They will be joined by Daniel Abbott, David Carr, Marty Cruickshank, Kammy Darweish, Qasim Mahmood, Leigh Quinn and Timothy Speyer. Linck was executed by sword, as befitted a male soldier, rather than by burning, the punishment for a woman: proof that the authorities couldn’t pin down what, precisely, offended them about the couple, at a time when religious certainties were also shifting. It follows her two sold-out plays for Hampstead Downstairs: The Animal Kingdom ('pure theatre’ – The Guardian) and Either (‘marks Ruby Thomas out as a daring and exciting new voice’ – The Arts Desk). Maggie Bain ( Man to Man, Wales Millennium Centre; Henry V, Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre) plays the role of Anastasius Linck with Helena Wilson ( Jack Absolute Flies Again, National Theatre; The Lady from the Sea, Donmar) playing the role of Catharina Mülhahn and Lucy Black ( The Durrells, ITV; The Haystack, Hampstead Theatre) playing Mother.

From Gentleman Jack to Orlando, the queer costume drama has been pushing debates around gender and sexuality into the mainstream in the disguise of rollicking good fun. Though the story and ideas should be compelling, the arch tone of Owen Horsley’s production, and some panto-style acting in the supporting cast, keep us at arm’s length. There’s potentially rich material here, but Thomas’s freely invented portrait of two happy-go-lucky nonconformists is very much a 21st-century morality play about intolerance, ignorance and the evils of the patriarchy. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site.Based on real events and characters, Ruby Thomas’s play is a rapier-sharp historical romp, festooned with sparkling dialogue, that ultimately draws blood and tears. I am, nevertheless, inclined to support the similarities, for it speaks to one of the play’s final lines that trans and non-binary individuals – or even those who have experimented with gender in some way, shape or form – have always existed. Anastasius Linck boldly renounces skirts and embroidery in favour of living as a man, and Catharina Mulhahn's own act of bravery is to love and marry him, slipping their relationship right under the noses of their narrow-minded neighbours. But when he meets passionate young Catharina Mülhahn, so strong is the attraction that the match becomes inevitable. The polite harpsichord music of balls and boudoirs is fractured by ecstatic blasts of music from the 20th-century counterculture, as the can of worms is cracked open by a versatile 10-strong cast.

Maggie Bain ( Man to Man, Henry V) stars as Anastasius Linck, alongside Helena Wilson ( Jack Absolute Flies Again, The Lady from the Sea) as Catharina Mülhahn. This play's relentless enthusiasm for turning tragedy into comedy founders in the second half, when Linck’s fight for his life turns into a grating courtroom farce packed with the buffoonish antics of various bewigged gentlemen. Our autumn/winter season celebrates Hampstead’s cosmopolitan roots with a range of international playwrights from Scotland to the USA, Northern Ireland to France and some great homegrown talent in between. An audio described performance will take place on 25 February, with a captioned showing on 28 February. Touch is often mentioned, from the touché of swordsmanship to the idea of touch going beyond what the eyes can see, to get closer to the “true essence” of an individual.Directed by Owen Horsley, the play’s creative team also includes Simon Wells (design), Matt Daw (lighting), Max Pappenheim (sound), Dewi Johnson (assistant direction), Rachel Bown-Williams (fight and intimacy direction) and Ruth Cooper Brown (fight and intimacy direction). There’s only so much one can speak to this issue as a cisgender critic, but there’s certainly some elements to the writing which don’t quite land as comfortably as they should, feeling clunky or otherwise out-of-place. Ruby Thomas’ epic and playful modern love story takes eighteenth century court records as its starting point. At times, it’s ploddingly paced, with Thomas trying to pack too many ideas into a narrative that is at its best when it’s tightly focused on the central characters’ passionate relationship. The title of Ruby Thomas’s play suggests some kind of cringey comedy double act, but the reality is weightier, stranger and sexier than that.