Out on Stage: Lesbian and Gay Theater in the Twentieth Century [Hardcover]

Professor Alan Sinfield (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 11, 1999

Sinfeld tracks stage representations of lesbians and gays from Oscar Wilde to the present day, arguing that despite and because of censorship and discretion, 20th century theatre has been viewed as gay space. He concludes with provocative questions about the direction of new theatre writing, challenging notions of our sexual potential.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

With the elegant sweep typical of his previous books (e.g., The Wilde Century, 1994), Alan Sinfield takes on an entire century of theater--gay theater seems almost redundant by the time he has finished--asserting not only that drama "has been a particular site for the formation of dissident sexual identities" but that, for over 100 years, theater and theatricality have been perceived and experienced as queer. Although scrupulously researched and shaped by a variety of poststructural approaches to literature and performance, Out on Stage avoids dryly academic prose, providing a lively and evocative exploration of a history rife with legends, eccentrics, and anecdotes. "It seems right to claim Maugham for gay drama," writes Sinfield, for example. "He embodies so much that is brave and despicable about the pre-Stonewall queer man." An excellent introduction to gay theater and a distinguished contribution to cultural studies at large. --Regina Marler

From Publishers Weekly

The study of theater and homosexuality is vital, asserts Sinfield (The Wilde Century, etc.), because "theater has been a powerful institution" in public life and an important "site for the formation of dissident sexual identities." Beginning with the career of Oscar WildeAwhose fin-de-si?cle plays introduced a startlingly modern and subversive gay sensibility to British theater, and whose trial and subsequent public humiliation functioned as a national morality playASinfield works his way through the plays of No?l Coward, Somerset Maugham, Tennessee Williams, Tony Kushner and Jane Chambers. In addition, he analyzes overlooked gay themes in such works as Rose Franken's Outrageous Fortune, Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap and Sholem Asch's The God of Vengeance. Sinfield's strongest and most original analyses address the effect of psychoanalysis on the representation of gay themes, how the idea of "bohemia" affected gay writers and the impact of Pinter's sparse dialogue on writing about outsider sexuality. Unfortunately, Sinfield, who is a professor of literature at Sussex University, is far more interested in gay male than lesbian theater. He devotes some space to "representations of lesbianism" and engages in solid discussions of such lesbian-themed plays as Edouard Bourdet's The Captive and Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour, but his treatment of such openly lesbian writers as Holly Hughes, Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw and their (lesbian-themed) works is perfunctory. His uneven approach mars an otherwise intelligent and provocative effort. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; First Edition edition (December 11, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300081022
• ISBN-13: 978-0300081022
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #469,047 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN AB FAB WALK ON THE WILDE SIDE, May 25, 2003

By 

Alan W. Petrucelli (THE ENTERTAINMENT REPORT (ALAN W. PETRUCELLI)) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Out on Stage: Lesbian and Gay Theater in the Twentieth Century (Hardcover)

What could be a drag is actually an in-depth, original look at stage representations of lesbians and gay men from Oscar Wilde to the present day. And what a wild ride it is! Author Alan Sinfield samples scores of British and American plays and playwrights (including Coward, Maugham, Hellman, Williams and O'Neill) and examines them in the contexts in which they were produced and viewed, whether it be the West End of London or the Lower East Side of New York. Most fascinating is how homosexuality views changed throughout he decades --- how the '60s produced an exuberant cultivation of "kinky" humor and gay political activism (think "Boys in the Band"); how AIDS impacted the theater (think "Love! Valor! Compassion!") Unlike the recently published "Something For The Boys," Sinfield knows how to write ... and rein in any subjective gushing. Ab Fab!