Not in Front of the Audience - Homosexuality on Stage (Paperback)

"Until 1958 the law in Britain forbade the public performance of any play that dealt openly with homosexuality." "Not in Front of the Audience" is a pioneering study of a neglected terrain; examining the way in which the theatres of London and New York have reflected contemporary social and cultural attitudes to homosexuals and homosexuality. In the 1920s and 30s the theatre sought to represent homosexuals as either essentially corrupt, or else morally pitiful. Paradoxically however, de Jongh argues, no matter how much homosexual characters were derided and despised, by refusing to conform they subverted conventional sexual expectations. The woman with a past, who inspired many late Victorian melodramas, sought happiness through social acceptance. The homosexual looked to a future outside the confines of a conservative heterosexual society. During the Cold War, under the influence of McCarthysism, homosexuality became perceived as not only morally reprehensible, but also politically dangerous. Only, briefly, in the late 60s did the theatres of London and New York dare to confront the issue of heterosexual prejudice and its devastating impact upon the lives of gay men and lesbians.

General

Imprint:	Routledge
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	March 1992
Authors:	Nicholas De Jongh
Dimensions:	216 x 138 x 19mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	232
ISBN-13:	978-0-415-03363-3
Categories:	Books > Arts & Architecture > Performing arts > Theatre, drama > General Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Gay & Lesbian studies > General Promotions
LSN:	0-415-03363-2
Barcode:	9780415033633

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