EdFringe Talk: The Marriage of Alice B Toklas by Gertrude Stein

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“Edinburgh has such amazing energy, it reminds me of theater in New York 20 years ago when I was getting started.”

WHO: Edward Einhorn

WHAT: “A New York Times Critic’s Pick! A marriage farce by Edward Einhorn about Stein and Toklas in which four actors play over 30 characters. Identities are merged and submerged. Their famous salon, with celebrity guests such as Hemingway, Picasso and many others, is the setting for this comic fantasy with serious intent. The lesbian and Jewish subtext of their lives is made text, and the tragic implications of a relationship that existed in their hearts, but could never be fully acknowledged, are explored. Critically acclaimed in New York and London.”

WHERE: Dram at Gilded Balloon Patter House (Venue 24) 

WHEN: 18:30 (80 min)

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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I have been there a few times to scout for the festival I run in New York, The Rehearsal for Truth International Theater Festival, honoring Vaclav Havel (a collection of Central and Eastern European work). I became involved with my own festival due to my work with the Czechs–years ago, while Havel was still alive, I did a festival of Havel’s work and that lead to a few collaborations with him, which then led to my working with the Czech Republic and other nations in that area. My festival only has a show a day however, a very different experience. Edinburgh has such amazing energy, it reminds me of theater in New York 20 years ago when I was getting started. It was revitalizing, and it made me want to bring my own show.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

The main lesson is a lesson about the world: the rights and democracy we have one day can disappear tomorrow. This is a story about two Jewish women in love in a world approaching fascism. We make the subtext text and celebrate their lives, but also remember that the progress in the area of queer rights and the fight against antisemitism can quickly and easily be reversed. But this is the serious message behind all the fun. Because the other thing I have learned is that in difficult times, we need theater to survive. Whatever the message, the joy and community of being in the theater is necessary for our survival. So for me, the first task is to focus on the fun.

Tell us about your show.

I wrote it, and it is being produced by by New York theater company (Untitled Theater Company No. 61) with the help of Broadway producer James Simon. It played first in New York at HERE Arts Center (where is was a New York Times Critic’s Pick) and then moved to the Jermyn Street Theatre in London (where is garnered many 5 and 4 star reviews). The cast is mostly the same cast that performed the show in New York, all of whom I knew in one way or another before the show, either by working with them or by reputation. They have a lot of experience in New York experimental theater, where Gertrude Stein in an icon, of sorts. Only our Stein has changed, and she is performed by a woman named Barsha. Two of the cast member’s were at Barsha’s show and they came back to me and said: she’s the one. I met her, and it’s true. I can’t imagine a more perfect Stein. We hope to take it back to New York after, with a bigger production, but also would love to tour in the Europe or North America–or license the script.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

My festival just hosted the show Furiozo, and it’s back (and amazing, see him or anything Piotr Sikora does). What I love particularly about Furiozo is that, like my own show, it emphasizes the laughter. So the message, and I think there is a good one about masculinity and its expression, can be absorbed easily. Or one can ignore the message altogether and just laugh! A friends, Ari Laura Keith, is directing a show at Traverse called Rift about two brothers on opposite ends of the political spectrum. Haven’t seen it, but it sounds intriguing. Another friend, Tjasa Ferme, has a one-woman show called My Marlene about Marlene Deitrich, which also sounds intriguing.

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