Re-Dressing the Canon : Essays on Theatre and Gender

Re-Dressing the Canon examines the relationship between gender and performance in a series of essays which combine the critique of specific live performances with an astute theoretical analysis. Alisa Solomon discusses both canonical texts and contemporary productions in a lively jargon-free style. Among the dramatic texts considered are those of Aristophanes, Ibsen, Yiddish theatre, Mabou Mines, Deborah Warner, Shakespeare, Brecht, Split Britches, Ridiculous Theatre, and Tony Kushner. Bringing to bear theories of 'gender performativity' upon theatrical events, the author explores: * the 'double disguise' of cross-dressed boy-actresses * how gender relates to genre (particularly in Ibsens' realism) * how canonical theatre represented gender in ways which maintain traditional images of masculinity and femininity. From Aristophanes to Split Britches, gender and performance have been inextricably linked to the stage. In a wide-ranging series of essays Re-Dressing the Canon examines the relationship and posits ways in which the self-referential conventions of theatre can reveal the performative element of gender. Analysing both canonical texts and contemporary productions in a lively, jargon-free prose style, Re-Dressing the Canon finds feminist fissures within the performance conventions of patriarchal drama. Among the dramatic texts considered are those of: * Aristophanes * Ibsen * Yiddish theatre * Mabou Mines * Deborah Warner * Shakespeare * Brecht * Ridiculous Theatre * Split Britches Tony Kushner. Alisa Solomon moves beyond psychoanalytic approaches that have dominated feminist theatre criticism of the last decade, offering a new technique for investigating the relationship between theatre and gender. Re-Dressing the Canon bridges the boundary between theory and practice to make for a highly stimulating volume for theorists, students, contemporary performance-goers and practitioners alike. Arts, Language and Literature Book Cover 1 Half-Title 2 Title 3 Copyright 4 Dedication 5 Contents 6 Plates 7 Acknowledgements 8 Introduction 12 THE GENDER GAP: IRONY AND MIMESIS 12 MIMETIC TRUTHS AND PHALLUSES: THESMOPHORIA ZUSAE 16 AFTER ARISTOPHANES: FINDING THE FEMINIST FISSURES 19 ABOVE THE STREAM: SPECTATING AND CRITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS 24 1 Much virtue in if 32 2 The New Drama and the New Woman 56 3 Materialist girl 78 4 Queering the canon 102 “THOSE REVOLTING MIMICS” 102 ANOTHER JEWISH HAMLET 105 IBERGESETZ UN FARBESSERT 109 TREYF 117 SO, NU? 125 5 Three canonical crossings 136 CRACKING NATURE’S MOLD: MABOU MINES RE-ENGENDERS LEAR 136 PEOPLE DON’T DO SUCH THINGS: CHARLES LUDLAM’S HEDDA 149 EPIC FORNICATIONS: BLOOLIPS AND SPLIT BRITCHES DO TENNESSEE 159 Epilogue 170 Notes 184 Index 208 Alisa Solomon examines the relationship between gender and performance in a series of essays that consider theatrical texts and productions, from the time of Aristophanes, through to the modern era Annotation Solomon examines the relationship between gender and performance in a series of essays which combine the critique of specific live performances with an astute theoretical analysis