Bent (play)

Bent
Poster for the Royal National Theatre's 1990 revival of Bent, starring Ian McKellen
Written by	Martin Sherman
Date premiered	3 May 1979 (1979-05-03)
Place premiered	Royal Court Theatre, London
Original language	English
Subject	Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany
Setting	Berlin, 1934 following the Night of the Long Knives

Bent (sometimes stylised as BENT) is a 1979 British-American play by Martin Sherman. It revolves around the persecution of gays in Nazi Germany, and takes place during and after the Night of the Long Knives.

The title of the play refers to the slang word "bent" used in some European countries to refer to homosexuals.^[1] When the play was first performed, there was only a trickle of historical research or even awareness about the Nazi persecution of homosexuals. In some regards, the play helped increase that historical research and education in the 1980s and 1990s.^{[citation needed]}