‘A Pink Triangle’ Tells the Story of Gay Men in the Holocaust

Playwright Kirby Taylor dives into a father-son relationship during a time when homosexuality was illegal.

Kirby Taylor has always been fascinated by World War II history. Specifically, she’s always been interested in the Holocaust and the stories that have come out of one of the world’s greatest tragedies.

But she wasn’t aware of those who were marked with a pink triangle. Pink triangles were used to identify and mark gay men in concentration camps during the Holocaust. After picking up a book on the topic and learning more about it, Taylor was upset that the topic of men marked with pink triangles wasn’t well known and hadn’t been talked about much.

“The thing that made me the maddest, which, it’s a scale, was the idea that some of the survivors in the camps who wore the pink triangle were liberated only to be put back in jail by the Allied government because it was still illegal to be a gay man,” Taylor says.

She wanted to spark a conversation, and what better way to do that than taking the topic and crafting it into something she loves: playwriting.

And so, “A Pink Triangle” was born.

Written and produced by Taylor, the play tells the story of an estranged father and gay son navigating their relationship during a time when homosexuality was illegal. Taylor wanted the play to explore what has never been unpacked and speak what hasn’t been spoken about in the father-son relationship.

The show will take place at the Phoenix Theater in Minneapolis and is directed by Kjer Whiting, who has worked on other projects that took place during the World War II era. David Michaeli has been cast as Lars, the son, with Robb Krueger taking on the role of Hans, the father.

“Working with the cast and crew is about understanding the vision and how we work as a team to get what everyone wants to do, which is to be successful,” Taylor says.

There were days, though, when Taylor felt like this project was too big for her to tackle. She says she felt vulnerable having people pick up her script, taking what is hers and adapting it to what they envision.

“How do you create something that, in an hour and a half, describes what you want to describe?” Taylor says. “This history is something that you can’t experience in an hour and a half, so I didn’t even try. It’s about making it more personable.”

She pushed through, believing in the years’ worth of work it took her to get to where she is today. Taylor says it came back to remembering the friends and family who gave feedback on the script and those who shared their passion with her on the topic, helping spread the news of the play.

“I believe in the show,” Taylor says. “I believe that this is history people need to know, and that has been such a clear driving force for me that it’s made it a little easier to push down my insecurities of, ‘Will people like it?’”

Each audience member will receive a booklet during the show telling a story of those marked by pink triangles during the Holocaust and their experience in concentration camps; some of the booklets have more information on these individuals than others, Taylor says.

“These are real people,” Taylor says. “These are real victims that have stories, faces and lives that have not been told.”

“A Pink Triangle” came from a place of wanting to shed light on this part of history, Taylor says. Through conversations with experts and theater lovers around the Twin Cities, Taylor says she is excited to show people what she created.

“It’s amazing how people show up when you’re willing to expose your insecurities about chasing a dream,” Taylor says.

Taylor started this project because she was angry to learn about what gay men had gone through during and after World War II. She says she hopes those in attendance at the play will take away something similar.

“I can only hope that it starts conversations,” Taylor says. “If I overhear someone say they knew nothing about this before going in and now they know, that is enough for me to say this whole process was worth it.”

“A Pink Triangle” will run from June 20-28 at the Phoenix Theater. For more information on the show, please visit Taylor’s website at kirbytaylor.com.