The Strange Case of Dr Dillon

a fascinating real-life gender transition story from the mid-twentieth century

From 1915 to 1940, Michael Dillon struggled against a world that insisted he was a girl. The only way he could live a full life was to invent gender affirming care for trans men. Body aligned, he began work on his soul. Heart-break, world travel, and life as a Buddhist monk followed.

Today, trans identities are openly mocked in British parliament, and gender affirming healthcare increasingly difficult to access. Far from “new and experimental”, hormone and surgical treatments developed by and for Dillon, in partnership with an emerging plastic surgeon, are established best practices for the global medical community.

Follow Michael's journey from his childhood in Folkestone, through his medical training and transition, to the Merchant Navy and Buddhist monasteries in India and Ladakh. Described by biographer Pagan Kennedy as “The First Man-made Man”, Dillon's extraordinary life comes to the stage for the first time, with an all-trans cast.

Meet the cast

Cloud Quinn

Michael Dillon

Headshot of Cloud Quinn looking at the camera and smiling. He is white with short brown hair and goatee and blue green eyes. He wears a blue T-shirt

Cloud Quinn

Michael Dillon

Cloud graduated from Drama Studio London in 2023, where he developed a one-man show based on Kafka's The Trial and performed an extract from Ruby Thomas' Either at the Arts Theatre in Soho. His professional credits include The Guardian Weekend, Jonathan Sims' Thirteen Storeys, and Alice Oseman's I Was Born For This, for which AudioFile magazine described his performance as “endearing and heartbreaking”. Cloud is also a guitarist, singer, composer, and Star Trek enthusiast.

Kay Elúvian

Roberta Cowell, Aunt, and others

Headshot of Kay Eluvian smiling and looking at the camera. She is white with wavy brown hair and blue eyes. She wears black glasses, black jacket and white T-shirt.

Kay Elúvian

Roberta Cowell, Aunt, and others

Trained by Hollywood legend Pat Fraley, Kay has established herself as a highly versatile actress, specialising in voice. Her professional credits include World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, John Scalzi's Slow Time Between the Stars, the movie Double XL and over 150 audio dramas with award-winning production company Graphic Audio. Kay is also a writer, software developer, Equity rep and Transformers and Star Trek enthusiast.

coming soon to the Brighton and Camden Fringe Festivals

Lantern Theatre logo

Book tickets for the World Premiere at The Lantern Theatre in Brighton! £5.

Thursday 30th May 2024

7-8pm

Website: http://lanterntheatrebrighton.co.uk/

Camden People's Theatre logo

Book tickets for the extended run at Camden People's Theatre! £8.

29th-31st July 2024

7.15-8.15pm

Accessibility: The venue is on the ground floor and has no steps. It is fully accessible to wheelchair users. The basement level is accessible via lift. There is one fully accessible unisex toilet in the foyer.

Contact: foh@cptheatre.co.uk

Website: cptheatre.co.uk