Queer Performance and Contemporary Ireland

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

   PDF

2. Introduction: Queer Performance and Contemporary Ireland

   • Fintan Walsh

   Pages 1-20

3. Activism, Drag and Solo Performance

   • Fintan Walsh

   Pages 21-45

4. Reparative Therapies and Political Performers

   • Fintan Walsh

   Pages 46-62

5. Transforming Shame and Testimonial Performance

   • Fintan Walsh

   Pages 63-83

6. Intergenerational Moves and Documentary Theatre

   • Fintan Walsh

   Pages 84-102

7. Sex, Class and the City: Site-Specific Roots and Routes

   • Fintan Walsh

   Pages 103-119

8. Vertiginous Loss, Love and Belonging on the National Stage

   • Fintan Walsh

   Pages 120-142

9. Afterword: Reeling-Feeling

   • Fintan Walsh

   Pages 143-146

10. Back Matter

    Pages 147-189

    PDF

This book examines the surge of queer performance produced across Ireland since the first stirrings of the Celtic Tiger in the mid-1990s, up to the passing of the Marriage Equality referendum in the Republic in 2015.

• Queer performance
• Irish theatre and performance
• contemporary performance
• gender studies
• Irish history
• LGBTQ culture
• societal norms
• bibliography
• equality
• Ireland
• love
• Orient
• performance
• stage
• theatre

“This book offers not only a riveting account of its many forms in Ireland, but acts as a model for reading queer performance transnationally. As such, it is valuable beyond the context of Irish theatre to wider studies of queer performance and queer studies in general.” (Alyson Campbell, Contemporary Theatre Review, Vol. 27 (1), 2017) 

“Its scope is challenging and – in the best sense of the word – thoughtprovoking; the depth of its theoretical framework is highly interdisciplinary and refreshing; and the performances it looks at approach the topic of the book from many varied points of view. One of the strong fortes of the book is the presentation of the argument: the performances always take centre stage and are presented and discussed in very satisfactory detail and depth. … An enjoyable and stirring read.” (Michael Heinze, Theater Forschung, theaterforschung.de, May, 2016)

"Walsh offers an eloquent, beautifully parsed analysis of LGBTQ performance in Ireland, and the affective history and potential of the nation itself, seen through queer theatre. With a deft touch, Walsh develops deeply thought, persuasive, moving arguments about the vital social and performative projects of queer Irish artists." (Jill Dolan, Annan Professor of English, Princeton University, USA)

"This important study captures Irish theatre at a moment of major transition, showing how queer performance practices are changing our understanding of how drama is made and received, both in Northern Ireland and the Republic. Methodologically rich and engagingly written, the book gives much needed attention to such figures as Panti Bliss, Amy Conroy, Neil Watkins and Wayne Jordan. It will be of great value to scholars of Irish theatre, and is a significant contribution to the study of queer performance internationally." (Patrick Lonergan, Professor of Drama and TheatreStudies, National University of Ireland, Galway)

“[a]n accessible and enjoyable read that will be useful for any study of Irish LGBT socio-cultural history and Irish performance history as well as anyone interested in the wider trajectory of Queer arts and Queer theory in Western culture.” (Lazlo Pearlman, New Theatre Quarterly)

“The arguments presented in this book are as challenging and thought provoking as the individual performances examined. It is a highly interdisciplinary work that offers deeply persuasive arguments for the vital importance of queer performance in Ireland…This comprehensive text is a completely necessary read and is an excellent addition to the field of Irish theatre and performance studies. Walsh provides an unparalleled insight into queer performance in Ireland, and the book as a whole is well written, cleverly edited, and highly informative for the academic and the casual reader.” (Carole Quigley, Irish University Review)

• Birkbeck, University of London, UK

  Fintan Walsh

Fintan Walsh is Senior Lecturer in Theatre and Performance Studies in the Department of English and Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London, UK, where he is Co-Director of the Centre for Contemporary Theatre. Recent publications include Theatre & Therapy (2013), Male Trouble: Masculinity and the Performance of Crisis (2010), and the edited collection 'That Was Us': Contemporary Irish Theatre and Performance (2013). He is Associate Editor of Theatre Research International.

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