University of Warwick institutional repository: http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap/51455 This thesis is made available online and is protected by original copyright. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item for information to help you to cite it. Our policy information is available from the repository home page. Queer%Moments:%the%Profound%Politics%of%Performance% ! by% % Dafydd%James% ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! A!thesis!submitted!in!partial!fulfilment!of!the!requirements!for! the!degree!of!Doctor!of!Philosophy!(PhD)!in!Performance! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! University!of!Warwick,!School!of!Theatre,!Performance!and! Cultural!Policy!Studies! ! October!2011! 1 Contents% % % Acknowledgments% % % % % % % 6?8! % Declaration%% % % % % % % % 9% % Abstract% % % % % % % % % 10% % % Introduction% % % % % % % % 11?36% % Paradoxes:!ghosts!and!the!excess!of!truth(s)!! ! ! ! 11! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Utopian!Performatives! ! ! ! ! ! ! 16! ! ! ! ! ! Performance!Ontology! ! ! ! ! ! ! 18! ! ! ! ! ! Performance!as!Production! ! ! ! ! ! ! 21! ! Structure! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 25! ! ‘Writing’!Performance! ! ! ! ! ! ! 28! ! ! ! ! ! Chapters! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 31! ! Footnotes/Endnotes! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!! 35! ! ! 1.%Queerness:%paradox,%politics,%profundity%% % % 37?105% % Queer!Theory! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 37! ! A!‘Genealogy’!of!Queer!Theory! ! ! ! ! ! 40! ! A!Focus!On!What!Butler!Saw! ! ! ! ! ! ! 45! ! ! Defining!Performance!! ! ! ! ! ! ! 50! ! Defining!Politics! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 55! ! Gay/Lesbian!Politics! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 56! ! ‘Queer’!Politics! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 59! ! 2 Politics!and!Performance! ! ! ! ! ! ! 63! ! Butler!and!the!Politics!of!Performance! ! ! ! ! 68! ! Defining!Materiality! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 72! ! The!Contradictions!of!Bodily!Autonomy:!the!chiasmus!of!materiality! 74! ! Introducing!the!Non/Human! ! ! ! ! ! ! 77! ! Desire! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 79! ! ! ! Queer!Ethics! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 83! ! ! ! Butler’s!Philosophy!of!Freedom:!the!Levinasian!Face! ! ! 85! ! The!Politics!of!the!Profound! ! ! ! ! ! ! 91! ! Queer!Moments! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 96! ! ! ! 2.%Lazlo%Pearlman:%the%paradox%of%bodily%autonomy% % 111?136 % % % % % Lazlo!Pearlman! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 112! ! Performativity!and!Performance! ! ! ! ! ! 115! ! ! ! ! ! Performing!Transformation! ! ! ! ! ! ! 118! ! ! ! ! Contingent!Essentialism! ! ! ! ! ! ! 120! ! ! ! ! ! Lazlo!and!the!Contradictions!of!Bodily!Autonomy! ! ! ! 124! ! Beyond!Paralysis:!contradictions!and!paradox! ! ! ! 128! ! A!Queer!Moment:!a!paradox!of!performance! ! ! ! 130! ! ‘Reading’!Performance:!theory!and!practice!! ! ! ! 134! ! ! ! 3.%Franko%B:%radical%intimacy%and%the%‘punctum’%of%% % 139?163% performance%%% % % Porous!Boundaries! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 141! ! ! ! ! ! Queer!Subjects:!control,!limits!and!excesses!! ! ! ! 144! ! 3 Queer!Moments:!the!‘punctum’!of!performance! ! ! ! 147! ! Transforming!Performance:!radical!intimacy!! ! ! ! 152! ! Intersubjective!Environments!! ! ! ! ! ! 157!! ! ! ! ! ! ! Visceral!Reading! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 162! ! ! 4.%Fura%Del%Baus’%XXX:%contradictions,%excesses,%multiplicity% 165?193% % XXX"" " " " " " " " " " 166! % Representational!Limits! ! ! ! ! ! ! 169! ! Excesses!of!Desire! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 174! ! Violating!the!Audience! ! ! ! ! ! ! 179! ! Negotiating!Multiplicity:!representations!and!desires! ! ! 183! ! ! Frames!of!Recognition:!seeing!feelingly! ! ! ! ! 186! ! ! ! ! The!Multiple!Perspectives!of!Performance:!moments!of!clarity! ! 190! ! ! 5.%Attempts"On"Her"Life/Ceisio’i"Bywyd"Hi:%translations% % 195?233% % Acts!of!Translation! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 196! ! Attempts(On(Her(Life( ( ( ( ( ( ( ! 199! ( Ceisio’i(Bywyd(Hi! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 202! ! The!Absent!Ghost:!the!impossible!queer!subject! ! ! ! 205! ! Text:!Attempts(on(her(life! ! ! ! ! ! ! 205! ( Performance:!Ceisio’i(Bywyd(Hi! ! ! ! ! ! 208! ! Seeing!Feelingly:!‘the!face’! ! ! ! ! ! ! 211! ! Global!Mediatised!Culture! ! ! ! ! ! ! 214! ! Textual!Frames! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 216! ! Recognising!the!‘Face’! ! ! ! ! ! ! 219! 4 ! Embodied!Resistance/Transformation! ! ! ! ! 223! ! ! ! ! ! Cultural!Translation! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 228! ! Performing!Translations! ! ! ! ! ! ! 230! ! ! 6.%Such%Stuff%As%We%Are%Made%Of% % % % % 235?272% % Such(Stuff(As(We(Are(Made(Of( ! ! ! ! ! 239! ! Desire!and!Performance:!translation!and!writing! ! ! ! 242! ! ! ! A!Performative!Experiment! ! ! ! ! ! ! 253! ! Seeing!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 260! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Hearing! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 264! ! Feeling!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 266! ! Utopian!Instances! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 269! ! The!Desire!to!Speak:!translating!queer!moments! ! ! ! 271! ! % Conclusion:%After%Words%% % % % % % 275?285% % Bibliography% % % % % % % % 286?299 % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % 5 Acknowledgements% ! During!the!time!it!has!taken!me!to!complete!this!thesis!I!have!benefited!from!several! transformative!encounters!–!some!brief,!others!extended!–!that!have!all!had,!and! will!continue!to!have,!a!lasting!effect:!there!are!therefore!many!people!to!thank.! First!of!all!my!family:!they!have!given!me!both!invaluable!sustenance!and!financial! support.!Vivian!James,!my!Dat,!and!Rachel!and!Jack!Saer,!my!Mamgu!and!Dadcu,! provided!much!needed!funding!at!the!beginning!of!the!project,!without!which!I! could!never!have!started:!their!memories!I!cherish.!Mam!Aberteifi!continues!to! surprise!me,!inspire!me!and!keep!me!young,!and!my!sister!Siân,!Alex!and!my! nephews!Tomos!and!Wil,!have!provided!much!needed!joy!and!play.!And!of!course,!a! special!thank!you!to!my!parents:!Mair!and!Doug!James,!for!a!lifetime!of!nurture!and! unconditional!love!that!bind!the!words!of!this!thesis!in!ways!that!they!might!not! imagine.!Diolch.!! ! I!have!been!inspired!by!the!numerous!academics!I!have!had!the!fortune!to!meet! along!the!way;!some!are!also!valuable!friends.!At!the!University!of!Edinburgh:!Dr.! Abbie!Garrington,!Dr.!Julie!Marney,!Dr.!Roger!Savage!and!Dr.!Randall!Stephenson.!At! Bristol!University,!Dr.!Simon!Jones!for!his!welcome!and!encouragement!at!the! beginning!of!this!project.!I!would!especially!like!to!mention!Dr.!Dan!Davis!whose! medical!adventures!in!ethics,!theory!and!practice!I!find!enlivening,!Dr.!Olga!Taxidou,! my!undergraduate!tutor!in!English!literature,!for!introducing!me!to!queer!theory!and! to!the!work!of!Baz!Kershaw,!and!Dr.!Stephen!Greer!for!his!willingness!to!share!his! much!valued!expertise!in!the!final!stages!of!this!project.!Thank!you!also!to!the! 6 numerous!students!and!academics!I!engaged!with!at!conferences,!notably!the!‘New! Directions!in!Gay,!Lesbian!and!Queer!Studies’!conference,!the!University!of! Newcastle,!January!2003;!the!‘CIVICCentre!symposium’,!Roehampton!University,! April!2003,!and!the!‘Theatre:!Crossroads!of!the!Humanities’!conference!at! Northwestern!University,!Chicago,!April!2008,!the!organisers!of!the!latter!also!for! providing!the!cost!of!my!expenses.!The!James!Pantyfedwen!Foundation!paid!my! tuition!fees!for!several!years!and!I!would!like!to!thank!both!its!Trustees!and!Mrs! Lilian!Phippen,!who!first!told!me!of!its!existence.!!! ! There!are!of!course!countless!friends!and!gifted!theatre!practitioners!who!may!not! appear!on!these!pages!but!are!performing!between!the!lines!of!this!thesis! nevertheless.!I!would!like!to!thank!all!my!teachers!and!colleagues!at!the!London! International!School!of!Performing!Arts,!for!example,!where!I!spent!an!incredible! two!years!training!during!this!process!and!learnt!that!the!‘moving!body’!could!be!a( moving(body.!For!taking!the!risk!with!me!and!leaping!into!the!unknown:!Anna! Auchterlonie,!Emma!Bettridge,!Arwel!Gruffydd,!Elke!Laleman,!Hannah!McPake,!Elena! Peña,!Lucy!Rivers!and!Adele!Thomas.!For!their!friendship!and!counsel:!Eirlys!Bellin,! Emma!Callinghan!and!Catrin!Rogers.!Thank!you!also!to!Katie!Murphy!and!Hans!Van! Leeuwen!for!the!delicious!porridge!before!those!long!days!at!the!British!Library;! Clare!Garnsey,!without!whom!I!would!never!have!experienced!Such(Stuff(As(We(Are( Made(Of!and!of!course!Lazlo!Pearlman!who!made!me!‘see’!the!world!differently:! thank!you!for!such!a!wonderful!view.!! ! 7 Special!thanks!go!to!Catherine!Shepherd,!whose!generosity!astounds!me;!Lu!Kemp,! whose!influence!is!present!in!so!much!of!my!creative!practice!in!the!way!the!Snark! cannot!be;!to!Tom!Rice,!my!soul!mate!in!academia,!poetry!and!karaoke,!and!Ben! Lewis,!my!collaborator!and!dear!friend,!who!challenges!me!to!be!better!in!all!that!I! do,!because!he!is!rather!brilliant!in!all!that!he!does.!Not!forgetting!of!course,!my! beloved!Llwyth((tribe)!–!Andrew,!Iwan!and!Derfel!–!who!will!be!extremely!pleased! when!this!doctorate!is!over!but!will!still!continue!to!use!the!word!‘heteronormative’! nonetheless;!and!Hywel,!who!always!believed!that!I!would!get!there!in!the!end!and! who’s!love!ensured!that!I!did.!!! ! I!am!forever!indebted!to!Dr.!Helen!Freshwater,!for!her!diligent!and!insightful! comments!and!for!being!so!helpful!throughout!the!duration!of!this!project;!for!her! work!and!kindness!I!have!the!greatest!respect.!And!finally,!my!deepest!thanks!–! diolch(yn(fawr(iawn!–!to!Professor!Baz!Kershaw:!it!has!been!a!profound!encounter,! the!trace!of!which!will!continue!to!transform!me!for!years!to!come.! % ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! %% ! ! ! ! ! 8 ! ! ! ! ! % ! ! ! ! ! ! ! % % % % % % % % % % % % Declaration% ! I!declare!that!the!work!presented!in!this!thesis!is!entirely!my! own!and!that!it!has!not!been!submitted!for!a!degree!at!another! university.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 9 Abstract% % This!thesis!is!an!investigation!into!the!relationship!between!‘queerness’,!profundity! and!the!politics!of!performance.!In!what!ways!might!moments!of!performance!be!