Darwin Del Fabro Photo by Mari Eimas-Dietrich

While she describes her play as "a reflection on identity", what struck me while being thoroughly engaged by the story–me being someone for whom personal identity was never an issue–was a more universal message about the importance of role models, particularly for those who hide important aspects of themselves to avoid unacceptance.

"I was thirteen when I first held this book in my hands," the Brazil-born Del Fabro, speaking as herself, explains to the audience. "I didn't speak a word of English then, but the title, "Man Into Woman", it spoke to me."

She's referring to the 1933 published journal entries of Dutch painter Lili Elbe, one of the first trans people to receive gender-affirming surgery. This was done at Berlin's Hirschfeld Institute, which was later destroyed by the Nazis, thus erasing the work done during an important period in the history of transgender healthcare.

"It was a map, a lifeline," Del Fabro says of Elbe's diary, convinced that Lili had "found her way" to the adolescent who also had artistic aspirations.

"And she was telling me, even then, to keep moving. To keep searching."

Thus, in her one-act piece, Del Fabro alternates between being herself and portraying her literary mentor, highlighting the guidance received from lessons learned decades before her birth.

"I often posed in women's clothing, a secret," recalls Lili, remembering her adolescent male-presenting self. Though she aspired to create great works of art on canvases, she discovered that "painting myself awoke something in me."

Likewise, the young Darwin spent much of her time alone in her Rio de Janeiro apartment, painting canvases.

But the two young women each found a place where they can comfortably reinvent themselves. For Lili it was Copenhagen's Artists' Ball. For Darwin, it was New York, "the city that never asks who you are but somehow makes you answer anyway."

As the two characters alternate describing episodes that reveal their developing self-identities, the dangers they try to avoid, the pleasures they learn to enjoy, and their feelings about fully transitioning, the play's emotional highlights involve two moments, one furious and one very tender, involving how men physically perceive them.

In director Meghan Finn's graceful production, Del Fabro spends most of the time wearing the same beautifully flowing black dress as both characters (costumes are by Del Fabro in collaboration with Dior), but her European elegance as Lili contrasts with the bits of New York moxie that come through in Darwin. Certainly, their contrasting choices in footwear reveal style differences as do the upholstered chair on Lili's side of the stage and the wooden stool on Darwin's.

History tells us that Lili Elbe's story ended as she was attempting to expand the possibilities of what she could achieve in womanhood. Thankfully, Darwin Del Fabro is allowing a voice the Nazis tried to silence to speak to us today.

At present, Lili/Darwin clocks in at about 70 minutes, an appropriate amount of time if Del Fabro wishes to tour the numerous worldwide theatre festivals. And while it feels perfectly complete at The Tank, I couldn't help wondering if there is further exploration and personal examination that can expand it to a length that might be more attractive for higher-profile venues. But for now, with general admission tickets to be had on a sliding scale, starting at only $23.00, Lili/Darwin is an extraordinary bargain for those seeking extraordinary theatre.