The Changing Room : Sex, Drag and Theatre

by Laurence Senelick

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
* 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.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Queer, Theatre, LGBT, Sociology, Art

560 pages, Paperback

First published May 22, 2000

About the author

Laurence Senelick is Fletcher Professor of Drama and Oratory at Tufts University and a recipient of the George Jean Nathan Prize for dramatic criticism. His award-winning books include The Age and Stage of George L. Fox; The Chekhov Theatre: A Century of the Plays in Performance; and The Changing Room: Sex, Drag and Theatre. He is also a professional actor, director, and translator who has staged a number of American premieres.

See Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series Volume 91, pg. 371-372 for an excellent overview.

See also for an interview: http://www.tufts.edu/alumni/magazine/....

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an academic yet highly accessible cultural history of cross-dressing. Highly recommended.

[Aster · Rating 1 out of 5]

Blatantly transphobic and misogynistic. It was a fairly expansive history of drag cultures and didn’t just focus in the west, but it was incredibly hard to get through any of it with both the outdated, problematic and disrespectful language and the attitudes to engaging with gender transgression and subversion in performance

[Kamilla Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for my MA thesis.

[Brendan Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I...uh, think it's actually "Laurence" Senelick.