Abstract
Theatrical performance is a cultural activity through which people assemble to engage in public discourse and to form—however provisionally—a community. It is a public, performative, and political art, and it is not, therefore, surprising that it has played an important role in the changing representations of sex, sexuality, and gender in the latter half of the twentieth century, when these issues became politicized and new social movements arose around them. In Ireland, theatre has played a central role in how the sexuality of queer people—the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ) community—has been represented, and how they have represented themselves, from the 1960s to the present day.1 In this period, theatrical performance has been deployed to interrogate and challenge sexual repression of all kinds, to negotiate sexual and gender politics, and to foster a shared and continuing sense of identity and community.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Once a term of abuse, “queer” was reclaimed in the late 1980s and early 1990s as an inclusive term that does not denote a specific sex or gender, and that launches a critique of normative identity categories, including, potentially, lesbian and gay. In the academy, the field of queer theory has impacted on a diverse array of fields from art history to law. It is often used as an umbrella term for lesbian, bisexual , gay, and trans men and women, and for others who challenge heteronormative identities. In this chapter, I will use specific identity categories whenever possible, and use queer as either a term to denote gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people, or to denote a crisscrossing and blurring sexual and gender identity. For more on queer theory and the re-definition of the term, see (Jagose 1996).
- 2.
- 3.
The first homosexual emancipation movement emerged in Germany in 1897 when Magnus Hirschfeld and colleagues founded The Scientific–Humanitarian Committee, a group that sought to conduct scientific research and to advocate for the legal protection of gay, lesbian , bisexual and transgender men and women. When the National Gay Federation was founded in 1979 in Dublin, it named its resource centre the Hirschfeld Centre in recognition of his pioneering work in queer rights.
- 4.
As this study focuses on the relationship between the political emergence of gay liberation and activism from the late 1960s and early 1970s to the present, it does not look at Brendan Behan’s The Hostage, which includes gay characters, Princess Grace and Rio Rita. It was staged in Dublin in Irish as An Giall at the Damer Theatre in Dublin in June 1958, though the Irish text does not include the homosexual characters and is set in a tenement rather than a brothel. These changes were made when it was rewritten in English for Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop in Stratford East, London, where it premiered in October 1958. See Ann Marie Adams, “The Sense of an Ending: The Representation of Homosexuality in Brendan Behan’s the Hostage”, Modern Drama 40, no. 3 (1997); Nicholas Grene, The Politics of Irish Drama: Plays in Context from Boucicault to Friel, Cambridge Studies in Modern Theatre (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999).
- 5.
Alan Sinfield, Out on Stage: Lesbian and Gay Theatre in the Twentieth Century (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999), 271.
- 6.
Thomas Kilroy, The Death and Resurrection of Mr. Roche, rev. edition (Oldcastle, Co. Meath: Gallery Books, 2002), 30.
- 7.
Ibid., 57.
- 8.
Ibid., 63.
- 9.
Ibid., 81.
- 10.
Sinfield, 183.
- 11.
Kilroy , 135.
- 12.
Brian Friel, The Gentle Island (Oldcastle, Co. Meath: Gallery Press, 1993), 39.
- 13.
Ibid., 61.
- 14.
Linda Connolly and Tina O’Toole, Documenting Irish Feminisms: The Second Wave (Dublin: Woodfield, 2005), 174.
- 15.
Ibid., 176.
- 16.
Ibid., 179.
- 17.
Kieran Rose, Diverse Communities: The Evolution of Lesbian and Gay Politics in Ireland (Cork: Cork University Press, 1994), 11.
- 18.
Ibid.
- 19.
Unfinished Histories, “Any Woman Can”, Unfinished Histories: Recording the History of Alternative Theatre, http://www.unfinishedhistories.com/history/companies/gay-sweatshop/any-woman-can/.
- 20.
Connolly and O’Toole, 27.
- 21.
Philip Osment, Gay Sweatshop: Four Plays and a Company (London: Methuen Drama, 1989), xx.
- 22.
Ibid., xx.
- 23.
David Norris, A Kick against the Pricks: The Autobiography (London: Transworld Ireland, 2012), 143.
- 24.
Rose, 36.
- 25.
Joni Crone cited in Connolly and O’Toole, 186.
- 26.
Duggan writes specifically about women in Northern Ireland; however, in this instance, lesbian women’s experience in relation to the law is not impacted by patrician, and the same experience can be seen in the lives of Irish lesbians in the Republic of Ireland.
- 27.
Marian Duggan, Queering Conflict: Examining Lesbian and Gay Experiences of Homophobia in Northern Ireland (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2012). 103.
- 28.
David Cregan , Frank McGuinness’s Dramaturgy of Difference and the Irish Theatre (New York: Peter Lang, 2011), 1.
- 29.
Ibid., 3.
- 30.
Ibid., 214.
- 31.
Chrystel Hug, The Politics of Sexual Morality in Ireland (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1999), 213.
- 32.
Ibid.
- 33.
Rose, 19.
- 34.
“Manslaughter Sentence Suspended on Five Youths”, The Irish Times, March 9, 1983.
- 35.
Aodhán Madden, “Sea Urchins”, (Unpublished Script, 1988), 1.
- 36.
Brian Singleton, Masculinities and the Contemporary Irish Theatre (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), 108.
- 37.
This date makes the play’s references to HIV and AIDS historical anachronisms, as the syndrome was first reported on in the press in 1981 with Lawrence Altman’s article “Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals” in The New York Times.
- 38.
Madden, 1.
- 39.
Rose, 33.
- 40.
Caroline Williams et al., “People in Glasshouse: An Anecdotal History of an Independent Theatre Company”, in Druids, Dudes, and Beauty Queens: The Changing Face of Irish Theatre, ed. Dermot Bolger (Dublin: New Island, 2001), 134.
- 41.
Emma Donoghue, “I Know My Own Heart”, in Seen and Heard: Six New Plays by Irish Women, ed. Cathy Leeney (Dublin: Carysfort Press, 2001), 160.
- 42.
Ibid., 137.
- 43.
Ibid., 138.
- 44.
Ibid., 158.
- 45.
Cathy Leeney, “Introduction”, in Emma Donoghue Selected Plays, ed. Emma Donoghue (London: Oberon Books, 2015), xii.
- 46.
Emma Donoghue, Ladies and Gentlemen (Dublin: New Island Books, 1998), 57.
- 47.
“Mad About the Butch: Emma Donoghue Pursues Women in Pants”, https://oberonbooks.wordpress.com/2015/06/23/mad-about-the-butch-emma-donoghue-pursues-women-in-pants/.
- 48.
Ibid.
- 49.
Sue-Ellen Case, “Toward a Butch-Femme Aesthetic”, in The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader, ed. Henry Abelove, Michèle Aina Barale, and David M. Halperin (New York; London: Routledge, 1993), 295.
- 50.
Ibid.
- 51.
Brian Merriman, Wilde Stages in Dublin: A Decade of Gay Theatre (Dublin, Ireland: International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival Ltd, 2013), 93–4.
- 52.
Outburst Queer Arts Festival, http://outburstarts.com/about-us/.
- 53.
J. Paul Halferty, “Phillip McMahon Interview” (Dublin 2016).
- 54.
“TheatreofplucK: Queer Theatre for Belfast and Beyond”, http://www.theatreofpluck.com/about/.
- 55.
Thomas Conway, ed. This Is Just This. It Isn’t Real. It’s Money: The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary Irish Plays, Oberon Modern Playwrights (London: Oberon Books, 2012), 7.
- 56.
J. Paul Halferty, “Tom Creed Interview” (Dublin 2017).
- 57.
Fintan Walsh, Queer Performance and Contemporary Ireland: Dissent and Disorientation, Contemporary Performance Interactions (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), 116.
- 58.
The play was restaged at the Abbey’s sister stage The Peacock in 2012, was recorded for radio by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), and toured extensively in Ireland as debates continued over the merits of civil partnerships versus equal marriage. It was restaged at Project Arts in March 2015, ahead of the successful referendum on equal marriage held in May, and as a fundraiser for the Marriage Equality Campaign.
- 59.
Una McKevitt, “The Big Deal”, in This Is Just This. It Isn’t Real. It’s Money: The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary Irish Plays, ed. Thomas Conway (London: Oberon Books, 2012), 222.
- 60.
Ibid., 96.
- 61.
Walsh, 96.
- 62.
TENI, “Gender Recognition: Dr. Lydia Foy’s Case”, Transgender Equality Network Ireland, http://www.teni.ie/page.aspx?contentid=588.
- 63.
Walsh, 65.
- 64.
Fearghus Ó Conchúir, “Ireland 2016—the Casement Project”, Fearghus Ó Conchúir, http://www.fearghus.net/ireland-2016-the-casement-project/.
- 65.
Ibid.
Bibliography
About. “TheatreofpluK Queer Theatre for Belfast and Beyond.” http://www.theatreofpluck.com/about/.
Adams, Ann Marie. “The Sense of an Ending: The Representation of Homosexuality in Brendan Behan’s the Hostage.” Modern Drama 40, no. 3 (1997).
Altman, Lawrence. “Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals.” New York Times, July 3, 1981.
Case, Sue-Ellen. “Toward a Butch-Femme Aesthetic.” In The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader, edited by Henry Abelove, Michèle Aina Barale and David M. Halperin, 294–306. New York; London: Routledge, 1993.
Connolly, Linda, and Tina O’Toole. Documenting Irish Feminisms: The Second Wave. Dublin: Woodfield, 2005.
Conway, Thomas, ed. This Is Just This. It Isn’t Real. It’s Money: The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary Irish Plays, Oberon Modern Playwrights. London: Oberon Books, 2012.
Cregan, David. Frank McGuinness’s Dramaturgy of Difference and the Irish Theatre. New York: Peter Lang, 2011.
Donoghue, Emma. Ladies and Gentlemen. Dublin: New Island Books, 1998.
———. “I Know My Own Heart.” In Seen and Heard: Six New Plays by Irish Women, edited by Cathy Leeney, 99–160. Dublin: Carysfort Press, 2001.
———. “Mad About the Butch: Emma Donoghue Pursues Women in Pants.” https://oberonbooks.wordpress.com/2015/06/23/mad-about-the-butch-emma-donoghue-pursues-women-in-pants/.
Duggan, Marian. Queering Conflict: Examining Lesbian and Gay Experiences of Homophobia in Northern Ireland. Burlington: Ashgate, 2012.
Friel, Brian. The Gentle Island. Oldcastle, Co. Meath: Gallery Press, 1993.
Grene, Nicholas. The Politics of Irish Drama: Plays in Context from Boucicault to Friel. Cambridge Studies in Modern Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Halferty, J. Paul. “Phillip McMahon Interview.” Dublin, 2016.
———. “Tom Creed Interview.” Dublin, 2017.
Histories, Unfinished. “Any Woman Can.” Unfinished Histories: Recording the History of Alternative Theatre, http://www.unfinishedhistories.com/history/companies/gay-sweatshop/any-woman-can/.
Hug, Chrystel. The Politics of Sexual Morality in Ireland. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1999.
Jagose, Annamarie. Queer Theory: An Introduction. New York: New York University Press, 1996.
Kilroy, Thomas. The Death and Resurrection of Mr Roche. Rev. edition. Oldcastle, Co. Meath: Gallery Books, 2002.
Leeney, Cathy. “Introduction.” In Emma Donoghue Selected Plays, edited by Emma Donoghue, vii–xxii. London: Oberon Books, 2015.
Madden, Aodhán. “Sea Urchins.” Unpublished Script, 1988.
“Manslaughter Sentence Suspended on Five Youths.” The Irish Times, March 9, 1983, 1.
McKevitt, Una. “The Big Deal.” In This Is Just This. It Isn’t Real. It’s Money: The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary Irish Plays, edited by Thomas Conway, 221–49. London: Oberon Books, 2012.
Merriman, Brian. Wilde Stages in Dublin: A Decade of Gay Theatre. Dublin: International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival Ltd, 2013.
Norris, David. A Kick Against the Pricks: The Autobiography. London: Transworld Ireland, 2012.
Ó Conchúir, Fearghus. “Ireland 2016 – The Casement Project.” Fearghus Ó Conchúir, http://www.fearghus.net/ireland-2016-the-casement-project/.
O’Brien, Cormac. “HIV and Aids in Irish Theatre: Queer Masculinities, Punishment, and Post-Aids Culture.” Journal of the Medical Humanities (2017).
———. “Ireland in the Age of Aids: The Cultural Politics of Stigma.” Irish Review, no. 53 (2016): 45–59.
Osment, Philip. Gay Sweatshop: Four Plays and a Company [in English]. London: Methuen Drama, 1989.
Outburst Queer Arts Festival, http://outburstarts.com/about-us/.
Rose, Kieran. Diverse Communities: The Evolution of Lesbian and Gay Politics in Ireland. Cork: Cork University Press, 1994.
Sinfield, Alan. Out on Stage: Lesbian and Gay Theatre in the Twentieth Century. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999.
Singleton, Brian. Masculinities and the Contemporary Irish Theatre. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
TENI. “Gender Recognition: Dr. Lydia Foy’s Case.” Transgender Equality Network Ireland. http://www.teni.ie/page.aspx?contentid=588.
Walsh, Fintan. Queer Performance and Contemporary Ireland: Dissent and Disorientation. Contemporary Performance Interactions. Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.
Williams, Caroline, Katy Hayes, Siân Quill, and Clare Dowling. “People in Glasshouse: An Anecdotal History of an Independent Theatre Company.” In Druids, Dudes, and Beauty Queens: The Changing Face of Irish Theatre, edited by Dermot Bolger, 132–47. Dublin: New Island, 2001.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Halferty, J.P. (2018). Performing Politics: Queer Theatre in Ireland, 1968–2017. In: Jordan, E., Weitz, E. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Irish Theatre and Performance. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58588-2_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58588-2_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-58587-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-58588-2
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)