For Queen And Country

Army@TheFringe, Hepburn House, Tuesday to Sunday Denis Rake was a gay musical comedy performer who was recruited to the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the war because social and legal prejudice was so great that LGBTQI+ people were already accustomed to lives of secrecy.

He was told by his handlers the need for discretion was absolute and that he had to blend in. Instead, he became a drag queen entertaining German officers in a Parisian nightclub. He ended the war as Major Denis Rake, earning the Military Cross, the French Croix de Guerre and the title Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur. This play, which brings him to life through comedy, drama and song, is set around 1960 towards the end of his remarkable career.