Photography by Ruediger Glatz

Man to Man is a play with a lot of history. This English-language translation of German play Jacke wie Hose by Manfred Karge was first performed in Edinburgh in 1987 with a then relatively-unknown actor, Tilda Swinton, originating the roles of Ella and Max in this one-woman show.

Under the direction of Stephen Unwin, and with design by Bunny Christie, the show was a hit and enjoyed a subsequent transfer to London’s Royal Court Theatre. Almost 40 years, Swinton, Unwin and Christie return to that same theatre to bring the story to life once more, as part of the Royal Court’s 70th anniversary programme. Following the London run, Man to Man will return to Edinburgh this autumn, with subsequent performances scheduled in Berlin and New York next year.

So what’s it all about? Man to Man is inspired by a true story: a woman’s husband died during the Great Depression and, being entirely reliant on his salary to survive the economic crisis, she conspired to disguise herself as her dead husband and take over his job, to ensure there was still some money coming in. It’s the same tale that inspired playwright Bertolt Brecht to write his short story The Job. Man to Man reimagines the woman as Ella, who is trying to get by in 1930s Germany against a backdrop of rising fascism and an uncertain future. When her husband Max dies suddenly, she puts on his clothes the next day and turns up to his job as a crane operator – and gets away with it, for a while.