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Re-Dressing the Canon

Name: Re-Dressing the Canon
Author: Alisa Solomon
ISBN: 9780415157216

by Alisa Solomon

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Overview

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.

Synopsis

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.

About the Author, Alisa Solomon

Alisa Soloman is a theatre ciritic, teacher and dramaturg in New York City. She is Associate Professor of English and Theatre at CUNY and a staff writer at the Village Voice.