Before Bent’s first staging in London in 1979, there was little awareness of the Nazi persecution of queer-identified people. But with its potent statement, this play has helped increase historical research and education about their abuse, while engaging countless viewers with its compelling narrative. A Pulitzer Prize-nominated WWII drama from Martin Sherman, the play takes place in 1930s Berlin, as two lovers are thrown onto a train to Dachau as part of the Gestapo’s plan to cleanse the city of “perverts.” One denies his lover at the hands of the guards – but while at the camp he learns that true dignity lies in acknowledging who he is. Compelling, erotic, heartbreaking and witty, this Other Theatre Company production of Bent can now be seen at Chicago’s Strawdog Theatre.