Sexual Politics and the Male Playwright: The Portrayal of Women in Ten Contemporary Plays

By Geetha Ramanathan

Traditional studies of theater have long neglected an overall study of female roles as written by male playwrights. Are the roles blatantly sexist or do they adhere to the cultural norms that even progressive male playwrights cannot ignore?From Georg Buchner's Woyzeck to David Hare's Plenty, the ten plays studied here have traditionally been seen as extraordinarily innovative and progressive. Despite their seeming openness, each of the plays is affected by the playwright's sexual politics. Laid out is a framework for studying the plays in a feminist context that permits a new reading of the female roles, while still allowing the critic enjoyment of the performance as a whole.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786400633
• ISBN13: 9780786400638
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: McFarland Publishing
• Length: 190 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 0.8" x 6.3"