A domestic comedy whose homosexual character is part of an ordinary family that views his sexual orientation as unnatural. When the play was first produced in 1922, it enjoyed two performances and then was quietly removed from the repertory as too progressive for its time. It is, however, just right for ours. "Highly amusing." -Pieter Liefhebber, Der Telegraaf "It goes without saying for the play MUSTN'T DO IT is a real curiosity for the audience eighty years on because gay liberation has taken place in the meantime ... A fine monument to bygone manners, outdated norms and values, and...

This work 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 sodomitic appeal of the boy actor on the traditional stage of China, Japan and England; and the origins of the dame comedian, the principal boy, the glamour drag artiste and the male impersonator.

This work 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 sodomitic appeal of the boy actor on the traditional stage of China, Japan and England; and the origins of the dame comedian, the principal boy, the glamour drag artiste and the male impersonator.

This volume makes available an international collection of plays, from Britain, the US, Germany, France and Russia, providing an essential and fascinating resource for anyone interested in the theatre culture of this period.
Lovesick brings together six plays, each with individual introductions, including an author biography and a production history. The editor provides a contextual introduction to the volume offering valuable information about the ancestry of gay theatre and queer performance.
The anthology reveals how 'sexual deviance' made its way into the drama of this...

This volume makes available an international collection of plays, from Britain, the US, Germany, France and Russia, providing an essential and fascinating resource for anyone interested in the theatre culture of this period.
Lovesick brings together six plays, each with individual introductions, including an author biography and a production history. The editor provides a contextual introduction to the volume offering valuable information about the ancestry of gay theatre and queer performance.
The anthology reveals how 'sexual deviance' made its way into the drama of this...

This is the first book to explore theater in Russia after Stalin. Through his work at the Moscow Art Theatre, Anatoly Smeliansky is in a key position to analyze contemporary events on the Russian stage and he combines this first-hand knowledge with valuable archival material. Smeliansky chronicles developments from 1953 and the rise of a new Soviet theater, highlighting the social and political events that shaped Russian drama and performance. The book also focuses on major directors and practitioners and contains a chronology, glossary of names, and informative illustrations.

This is the first cross-cultural study of Chekhov's plays in production. Many now consider Chekhov a playwright equal to Shakespeare, and this book studies how the reputation evolved, and how the presentation of his plays varied and altered from their initial productions in Russia to the most recent postmodern deconstructions of them. Particular attention is given to the staging of Chekhov in Russia before and after the Revolution, and under different regimes; in the English-speaking world, in Western and Eastern Europe, as well as in Japan.

These four Russian comedies were written during the reign of Nicholas I, a period of considerable repression and censorship. They represent the most popular genres of the period.
Lensky's Her First Night was an immensely popular vaudeville which held the stage for years; Kozma Prutkov's Fantasy is a parody of vaudeville which was banned after one night. Turgenev's Luncheon with the Marshal is a comedy of manners about provincial life, and Saltykov-Schedrin's Pazukhin's Death is a satire of greed and corruption so savage that it was forbidden during the...

This is the first book to explore theater in Russia after Stalin. Through his work at the Moscow Art Theatre, Anatoly Smeliansky is in a key position to analyze contemporary events on the Russian stage and he combines this first-hand knowledge with valuable archival material. Smeliansky chronicles developments from 1953 and the rise of a new Soviet theater, highlighting the social and political events that shaped Russian drama and performance. The book also focuses on major directors and practitioners and contains a chronology, glossary of names, and informative illustrations.