OUPblog » Theatre & Dance

Election plays and the culture of elections and electioneering in the days of Dunny-on-the-Wold England’s pre-Reform elections are memorably satirized in the historical sitcom, Blackadder...

https://blog.oup.com/2024/02/election-plays-and-the-culture-of-elections-and-electioneering-in-the-days-of-dunny-on-the-wold/

On specters and spectacle: tales of two Eurovisions, Liverpool-Ukraine 2023 Phantoms from the past, ghosts of the present, specters of the future, all gathered on 13 May to haunt the Eurovi...

https://blog.oup.com/2023/05/on-specters-and-spectacle-tales-of-two-eurovisions-liverpool-ukraine-2023/

“Through Gilded Trellises”: a reflection on one hundred years of Façade The making of Façade “Poetry is more like a crystal globe, with Truth imprisoned in it, like a fly ...

https://blog.oup.com/2023/03/through-gilded-trellises-a-reflection-on-one-hundred-years-of-facade/

Macbeth, King James, and biting the hand that feeds you? Possibly the most dangerous play William Shakespeare wrote was The Tragedie of Macbeth.  The drama is packed with illegality: assa...

https://blog.oup.com/2023/03/macbeth-king-james-and-biting-the-hand-that-feeds-you/

“A tiger’s heart wrapped in a player’s hide”: Shakespeare under attack Around three years into his career as a dramatist, Shakespeare’s blank verse—his unrhymed iambic pentamete...

https://blog.oup.com/2023/01/a-tigers-heart-wrapped-in-a-players-hide-shakespeare-under-attack/

America’s first feminist ballet: Ruth Page and American Pattern As that rare creature—an American woman who, defining herself as a choreographer and ballet director, amassed a ...

https://blog.oup.com/2023/01/americas-first-feminist-ballet-ruth-page-and-american-pattern/

Six books from 2022 to add to your 2023 reading list Here are six books from 2022 that reviewers and critics loved that you should add to your 2023 reading list. OUPblog - Academic insigh...

https://blog.oup.com/2023/01/six-books-from-2022-to-add-to-your-2023-reading-list/

Funny how it ain’t so funny: casting, Funny Girl, and Broadway’s body issues Sometimes the meeting of an actor and a role produces a rare kind of alchemy that forever bonds the...

https://blog.oup.com/2022/12/funny-how-it-aint-so-funny-casting-funny-girl-and-broadways-body-issues/

Why we all need more Lesbian Dance Theory Last month a Member of Congress joined Fox News to claim President Joe Biden is “robbing hard working Americans to pay for Karen’s daughter’s...

https://blog.oup.com/2022/09/why-we-all-need-more-lesbian-dance-theory/

Dance “crazes” and plagues: a precedented phenomenon Lockdown raves, dodging people in the street, no more hugs, confinement within the home worthy of house arrest—and the language of...

https://blog.oup.com/2022/04/dance-crazes-and-plagues-a-precedented-phenomenon/

Three times systemic racism hindered Buck and Bubbles’s show business career Since George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police in 2020, social justice activists have target...

https://blog.oup.com/2022/04/three-times-systemic-racism-hindered-buck-and-bubbless-show-business-career/

Why “the all-male stage” wasn’t Why is "the all-male stage" inadequate as shorthand for the early modern stage? For one thing, it enforces a gender binary that has little to do with t...

https://blog.oup.com/2022/03/why-the-all-male-stage-wasnt/

Digital dance cultures: from online obscurity to mainstream recognition I didn’t enter the world of digital dance cultures as a scholar. When I was introduced to TikTok and Dubsmash in Oc...

https://blog.oup.com/2022/03/digital-dance-cultures-from-online-obscurity-to-mainstream-recognition/

The VSI podcast season three: ageing, Pakistan, slang, psychopathy, and more Listen to season three of The VSI Podcast for concise and original introductions to a selection of our VSI title...

https://blog.oup.com/2022/02/the-vsi-podcast-season-three-ageing-pakistan-slang-psychopathy-and-more/

Staging philosophy: the relationship between philosophy and drama Where does philosophy belong? In lecture halls, libraries, and campus offices? In town squares? In public life? One answer ...

https://blog.oup.com/2022/01/staging-philosophy-the-relationship-between-philosophy-and-drama/

Afong Moy on the 21st century stage The story of Afong Moy, the first known Chinese woman on American soil, and the first Chinese person to come face to face with American audiences across ...

https://blog.oup.com/2021/12/afong-moy-on-the-21st-century-stage/

The musical genius of Tommy Tune: “old plus old equals new” From the beginning, Tommy Tune was pulled as if by centrifugal force toward dance and the Broadway musical. He was taking dan...

https://blog.oup.com/2021/11/the-musical-genius-of-tommy-tune-old-plus-old-equals-new/

From La Source to Cold War cultural diplomacy, seven books on ballet From its origins in the Renaissance, ballet has evolved in various distinct ways, with different schools around the glo...

https://blog.oup.com/2021/09/from-la-source-to-cold-war-cultural-diplomacy-seven-books-on-ballet-reading-list/

SHAPE and societal recovery from crises The SHAPE (Social Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts for People and the Economy) initiative advocates for the value of the social sciences, humanitie...

https://blog.oup.com/2021/08/shape-and-societal-recovery-from-crises/

Adapting Shakespeare: shattering stereotypes of Asian women onstage and onscreen There has always been some perceived affinity between the submissive Ophelia and East Asian women. Ophelia i...

https://blog.oup.com/2021/07/adapting-shakespeare-shattering-stereotypes-of-asian-women-onstage-and-onscreen/

Listening as a way to manage stage fright It is as important for music teachers to listen to what music students and performers say as to the music they play. The incident I am about to des...

https://blog.oup.com/2021/07/listening-as-a-way-to-manage-stage-fright/

The mermaid in the fishbowl: the rise of optical illusions and magical effects The nineteenth century saw the publication of several books explaining how magical effects and spectral appear...

https://blog.oup.com/2021/06/the-mermaid-in-the-fishbowl-the-rise-of-optical-illusions-and-magical-effects/

Seven new books on musical theater: from Hamilton to Oklahoma! Whether you’re new to the stage or eagerly counting down the days until the curtains lift, explore some of our recent title...

https://blog.oup.com/2021/06/seven-new-books-on-musical-theater-from-hamilton-to-oklahoma-reading-list/

On SHAPE: a Q&A with Lucy Noakes, Eyal Poleg, Laura Wright & Mary Kelly OUP have recently announced our support for the newly created SHAPE initiative—Social Sciences, Humanities, and the...

https://blog.oup.com/2021/05/on-shape-a-qa-with-lucy-noakes-eyal-poleg-laura-wright-mary-kelly/

Disability, access, and the virtual conference Creating access for people with disabilities sometimes means fundamentally changing the nature of the thing that is made accessible. When we c...

https://blog.oup.com/2021/03/disability-access-and-the-virtual-conference/