The Changing Room: Sex, Drag and Theatre

Laurence Senelick

Taylor & Francis, Sep 1, 2003 - Performing Arts - 560 pages

The answers to these questions - and much, much more - are to be found in The Changing Room , which traces the origins and variations of theatrical cross-dressing through the ages and across cultures. It examines:
* tribal rituals and shamanic practices in the Balkans and Chinese-Tibet
* the gender-bending elements of Greek and early Christian religion
* the homosexual appeal of the boy actor on the traditional stage of China, Japan and England
* the origins of the dame comedian, the principal boy, the glamour drag artiste and the male impersonator
* artists such as David Bowie, Boy George, Charles Ludlam, Dame Edna Everage, Lily Savage, Candy Darling, Julian Clary and the New York Dolls.
Lavishly illustrated with unusual and rare pictures, this is the first ever cross-cultural study of theatrical transvestism. It is a must for anyone interested in cross-dressing, theatre, and gender.

What people are saying

Review: The Changing Room : Sex, Drag and Theatre (Gender in Performance) (Gender in Performance)

User Review  - Korri - Goodreads

'The regularly quoted injunction from Deuteronomy 22:5...categorically excludes magic gender impersonation as a means of conversing with God. Burning bushes, yes; flaming queens, no.' (18) Had to return to the library 6 April 2012

Review: The Changing Room : Sex, Drag and Theatre (Gender in Performance) (Gender in Performance)

User Review  - Selby - Goodreads

"The Changing Rome" is extremely ambitious--it takes on the global traditions of cross-dressed theater over a few millennia--and quite well-researched. Its emphasis on the shamanic nature of ...

About the author

Laurence Senelick is Fletcher Professor of Drama at Tufts University. He is the recipient of awards from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. His many publications include lovesick (1998), The Chekhov Theatre, and the Age and Stage of George L. Fox.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Changing Room: Sex, Drag and Theatre; Gender in Performance
• Author: Laurence Senelick
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis, 2003
• ISBN: 0203411072, 9780203411070
• Length: 560 pages
• Subjects: Performing Arts / Theater / General