Callow plays Pauline, who used to be Paul, and regularly visits her widowed father, Andrew, to look after him, do the household chores as her mother once did and escort him weekly to a Tesco supermarket. But the hitch is that her father is seemingly ashamed of having a son who lives as the woman she knows she is. But her dad still considers her Paul. The drama spins from Callow as Pauline, recounting for us her experiences.

The emotional thrust of the play involves Pauline desperately trying to gain respect of her father, as well as being accepted for who she is by others, who tend to stare at her. The play’s most touching moment is when Pauline describes the situation in which one day an elegant woman meets her and Andrew and without hesitation addresses Pauline, as she remembers the occasion:

“Hello, Pauline, so it’s you-- you’re Andrew’s daughter aren’t you?” She subsequently says, thoughts running together, “It’s nice to get to meet you at last, Andrew’s been saying for so long.”

Pauline continues to describe the meeting, the friendliness, the recognition and the reaction of Andrew, and it is as if a whole world of acceptance opens at that moment, especially with the knowledge that her father had talked to the woman about his daughter.

Callow, with his strong male facial features, hardly makes the most delicate looking woman, but I suppose that’s part of the point in his visually strained transformation into Pauline, abetted by Robin Don’s costume design, with Quinny Sacks credited as movement director.

Callow breaks into dance now and then, which relieves the necessity of constant dialogue as Pauline maintains perspective recounting life’s experiences, defining that life and the difficulties carrying off her persona. Although Callow still looks masculine despite makeup, dress, a womanly wig and movement to seem as feminine as possible, he achieves the character of Pauline through his remarkable acting.