Available Formats
Writing Queer Performance: Contemporary Texts and Documents
By (Author) Fintan Walsh
By (author) Le Gateau Chocolat
By (author) Dickie Beau
By (author) Ray Young
By (author) Bourgeois & Maurice
By (author) Sh!t Theatre
By (author) Rosana Cade
By (author) Ivor MacAskill
By (author) David Hoyle
By (author) Vijay Patel
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Methuen Drama
20th February 2025
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
Modern and contemporary plays (c 1900 onwards)
Paperback
232
Width 156mm, Height 234mm
The first of its kind, this anthology documents some of the UK's most exciting contemporary queer performances, through a mix of retrospective scripts, development material and visual documentation. Queer performances are often expected to live a brief, bright life without textual record. They rarely begin with complete scripts at all, being mostly developed by performance-led forms designed to fill noisy bars, clinking cabaret venues and fringe theatres, typically for very short runs. Because of this lack of written material, these important and vital forms run the risk of being lost to the archives of memory. Writing Queer Performance: Contemporary Texts and Documents features eight seminal queer live works, ensuring their enduring accessibility. Featuring performance scripts, developmental material and visual documentation, this anthology provides a panoramic view of contemporary processes and practices. The works include Black (2013), Le Gateau Chocolat Pull the Trigger (2016), Vijay Patel Re-Member Me (2017), Dickie Beau DollyWould (2017), Sh!t Theatre NIGHTCLUBBING (2018), Ray Young Pleasure Seekers (2022), Bourgeois & Maurice The Making of Pinocchio (2022),Rosana Cade and Ivor MacAskill Ten Commandments (2022), David Hoyle Along with a contextualizing introduction, this collection illuminates this vibrant but vulnerable form, supporting its documentation and accessibility long after the event of live performance.
Fintan Walsh is Professor of Performing Arts and Humanities at Birkbeck, University of ondon, where he is Head of the School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication and Director of Birkbeck Centre for Contemporary Theatre.