Overview

Favorite examples of cross-dressing or cross-gender performances include Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie, Vesta Tilley as Burlington Bertie, Maxine Peake as Hamlet, and Drag Queen RuPaul outrageously fronting the RuPaul Drag Race. Cross-Dressing in Performance tells the story of the different ways performers cross-dress. Janet Tennant looks at many of the memorable performers over the years who have adopted the characters and dress of others, and why they have done so: to tell stories, to amuse, to create memorable alter-egos, to rebel or call attention to social and political issues or merely for reasons of expediency. Tennant examines cross-dressing at different periods of theatrical history in the Western canon, predominantly in Britain and North America. Not following a conventional historical timeline, Tennant instead examines the different types of cross-dressing/cross-gender performance: Boys in Shakespeare, Heroes in Opera, Pantomime Dames, and Drag Queens being just a few. And no study of cross-dressing can, of course, forget its origins in Ancient Greece. It's a Drag: Cross-Dressing in Performance discusses the present and attempts to predict the future of cross-dressing in performance. How will the drive towards equality affect the use of cross-dressing and cross-gender role casting? Will gender-blind roles become as prevalent as color-blind casting? Will audiences continue to be amused and impressed, or will gender differences in entertainment cease to be important?

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9781493059058

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Reviews

A fascinating, informative, comprehensive, and authoritative guide to cross-dressing in all its forms, from its earliest incarnations to the present day-resurgence in theater, film, and entertainment . . . An essential textbook for all students of drama and gender studies.--Kate Edgar, theater director, musical director, and composer Janet Tennant has created a fascinating and meticulously researched book examining the history and development of cross-dressing in performance. She successfully brings together the numerous and diverse strands that have influenced and created modern day 'cross-dressing' performance in an accessible and highly readable manner.--Alison Young, writer and researcher, Secretary of the British Music Hall Society

Author Information

Janet Tennant spent many years lecturing, researching, and training in Europe and beyond, focusing on improving workplace relationships. Her last book, Sax Appeal, tells the life story of the indomitable Ivy Benson, who led a band of all-female musicians to entertain American and British troops in World War II and post-war. Tennant's fascination with cross-dressing originated in her time as an amateur actor, often playing the glamorous prince in pantomime and less glamorous male roles in girls' school Shakespeare productions. She has four grown children and lives with her partner in Lichfield, UK.

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