Contemporary North American History Plays

Jaclyn Backhaus and Lauren Gunderson’s Feminist Reworkings

Beth Roberts

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2026
• eBook ISBN:
  9781040617137
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Feminism & Feminist Theory

Contemporary North American History Plays examines how feminist theatre makers employ metadramatic techniques to revolutionize historical storytelling on the American stage.

This groundbreaking study investigates the intersection of feminist theory and historical reimagining in contemporary American theatre, focusing on the underexplored works of acclaimed playwrights Jaclyn Backhaus and Lauren Gunderson. Through detailed analysis of four significant plays—Backhaus' Men on Boats and Wives, and Gunderson's Emilie: La Marquis du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight and the Revolutionists—the book reveals how metadramatic devices serve as powerful feminist tools for challenging traditional historical narratives. Drawing on foundational feminist theories from Sara Ahmed, bell hooks, Audre Lorde, Judith Butler and Ania Loomba, the author unpacks the ideological frameworks underlying these theatrical retellings. The study meticulously examines specific metadramatic techniques—plays within plays, role playing, ritual elements, self-reference, and transgressive casting—demonstrating how these strategies disrupt conventional historical storytelling and invite audiences to critically reconsider their consumption and understanding of history.

This essential volume will appeal to scholars and students of contemporary theatre, feminist theory, gender studies, and American cultural history, as well as practitioners interested in innovative approaches to historical representation on stage.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half-Title Page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1 Expanding Terms Associated with Womanhood through Role Playing within a Role and Ritual
• 2 Challenging the Limits of Societal Gender Roles through Doubling and Transgressive Casting
• 3 Supporting Praxes of Community and Sisterhood through Ritual and the Play within the Play
• 4 Decentring White, Colonial ‘Feminisms’ through Self-Referential Writing and Transgressive Casting
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Index