The difficult story of Olympic champion Caster Semenya inspired the new play Jet Fuel, set to premiere at Bishop Arts Theatre Center. The South African runner won the gold medal in the 800-meter races at the 2012 and 2016 Games but was blocked from defending her title in subsequent Olympics by new rules governing the levels of testosterone permitted in female athletes.
“I’m born a woman, but I’m a woman with no uterus,” Semenya has said about a condition called hyperandrogenism that causes naturally high levels of the hormone. “I have no fallopian tubes. I don’t go through menstruation. Yes, I’m different, but it doesn’t make me less of a woman … I am here where I am because of dedication, hard work, discipline.”
She published a memoir about her experiences, The Race to Be Myself, last year.
Jet Fuel was written by Brooklyn-based Amy Evans, an associate provost at the Juilliard School, and deals with questions of gender, racial identity and fairness in athletic competitions. The production at Bishop Arts is directed by Tiana Kaye Blair, a member of the Dallas Theater Center acting troupe.
Details
Sept. 12-22 at Bishop Arts Theatre Center, 215 S. Tyler St. $20-$35. bishopartstheatre.org.
