Papers by Melissa Merchant
Performing Identity in the Era of COVID-19
Journal of Intercultural Studies
This special issue of the Journal of Intercultural Studies is titled 'Performing Identity in the ... more This special issue of the Journal of Intercultural Studies is titled 'Performing Identity in the Era of COVID-19', and co-mingles our current critical inquiries into the pandemic meaning of 'performance'' with our earlier research in global diasporas. While invoking our previous historical context of 'the era of COVID-19', we shift focus from migratory liminality to the many ways that we can rethink the notions of performance, performing, and performativity (and the nonperformative) in the context of the global pandemic. Herein, we understand, in the broadest sense, the meaning of 'performance', which is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as 'how well a person, machine, etc. does a piece of work or an activity'. As one might imagine, different cultures define 'performance', in various ways, ranging from staged performances to employees' 'performance reviews' to social performances in everyday life. Most recently, upon the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, The Atlantic published a story titled, 'No One Performed Britishness Better Than Her Majesty: She understood intuitively what an extraordinary force cultural power could be' (2022). The story's gripping headline underscores how nationality, duty, patriotism, stewardship, family values, and so on, could be globally performed through racialized privilege even as millions perform grief on a global stage still reeling from COVID-19. The symbolism embedded in the monarchy is arguably always in the first instance performativeeven at the tail end of a global health crisis. In today's historical context, we speak of an activity that has been ongoing for years and catalysed a radical shift in 'work' as we once knew it. It is the constant performance demanded by us when using technology to bridge the humanitarian gulfs generated by social-distancing, closed borders, and mandatory masks. The coronavirus and its global mutations, including its continued presence and after-affects, seem perpetual even as the world reaches a 'conclusive' stage. Beyond apocalyptic horror films, few of us ever imagined in our lifetimes enduring a global pandemic of COVID-19's magnitude. The virus's global upsurge over the past three years thus compelled us to critically meditate on how it has forced us to publicly behave, perform, in different ways both off and online. It has moreover forced billions to experience limited movement around regional, national, and international borders
Outskirts: Feminisms along the Edge, May 1, 2018
During the Restoration era (1660 to 1700), the plays of Shakespeare were routinely adapted in ord... more During the Restoration era (1660 to 1700), the plays of Shakespeare were routinely adapted in order to make them fit for the new stages and society in which they were being produced. Representations femininity' and (woman' were renegotiated following a tumultuous period in English history and the evidence of this can be seen in the Shakespearean adaptations. Theatrical depictions of women within the plays produced during this time drew on everyday discourses of femininity and were influenced by the new presence of professional actresses on the London stages. In a time before widespread literacy and access to multiple media platforms, the theatre served a didactic function as a site which could present "useful and instructive representations of human life" (as ordered by Charles II in his Letters Patent to the theatre companies in 1662). This paper argues that, on the stage, Restoration women were afforded three roles: gay, ideal or fallen. Each of these are evident within Thomas Shadwell's adaptation of Timon of Athens. FULL TEXT Headnote During the Restoration era (1660 to 1700), the plays of Shakespeare were routinely adapted in order to make them fit for the new stages and society in which they were being produced. Representations femininity' and (woman' were renegotiated following a tumultuous period in English history and the evidence of this can be seen in the Shakespearean adaptations. Theatrical depictions of women within the plays produced during this time drew on everyday discourses of femininity and were influenced by the new presence of professional actresses on the London stages. In a time before widespread literacy and access to multiple media platforms, the theatre served a didactic function as a site which could present "useful and instructive representations of human life" (as ordered by Charles II in his Letters Patent to the theatre companies in 1662). This paper argues that, on the stage, Restoration women were afforded three roles: gay, ideal or fallen. Each of these are evident within Thomas Shadwell's adaptation of Timon of Athens.
Journal of Intercultural Studies
During the COVID-19 pandemic, theatres around the world closed and performances moved online. Con... more During the COVID-19 pandemic, theatres around the world closed and performances moved online. Consequently, when the musical Hamilton opened in March 2021 in Australia, it was the only version of the show being performed live on stage anywhere in the world and was marketed as a 'beacon of hope' for the performing arts industry [
Journal of Postcolonial Writing, 2021
American Movie Classics’ (AMC) popular television series The Walking Dead (2010–present) transpor... more American Movie Classics’ (AMC) popular television series The Walking Dead (2010–present) transports viewers into an apocalyptic zombie dystopia where the lines between safety and precarity, being governed and governing, or being alive and/or dead slip and change. Utilizing Achille Mbembe’s term “necropolitics”, the article explores The Walking Dead’s representation of governance and power in terms of individual and group security. While the zombie has been understood as the liminal figure par excellence, The Walking Dead’s non-zombie characters illustrate diasporic liminality as refugees, hovering on or near the threshold of death. The scale of suffering or prosperity is determined by who leads or governs. Frequently, those deemed “in charge” exercise power and control to discipline, to punish, and to provide security. The series offers a metaphor for the potential uses of power in biological, environmental, or natural disaster situations where survivors grapple with scarce resource...
The Routledge Companion to Disability and Media
Her Infinite Variety was a theatrical production staged in 2009 as part of a praxis-led investiga... more Her Infinite Variety was a theatrical production staged in 2009 as part of a praxis-led investigation into the impact and influence women had on the performance of Shakespeare during the Restoration. The production was positioned within the theoretical notion that, through the adaptations of Shakespeare’s works, it was possible to determine the Restoration writers’ attempts to create a discourse of femininity. While an analysis of the Restoration texts afforded some insights into this discourse, as did a textual comparison between each ‘original’ play and its adaptation, these were limited in nature. There were assumptions made prior to the production period of Her Infinite Variety, based on detailed readings of the Restoration adaptations, yet the rehearsals and public performances of the script provided more insights than the text alone could possibly have offered. It is these insights that this paper seeks to investigate and to show that, through a praxis-led investigation, it is...
The Seventeenth Century
ABSTRACT It has been traditionally accepted that the first professional performance by an English... more ABSTRACT It has been traditionally accepted that the first professional performance by an English actress occurred on December 8th, 1660 in a production of Othello staged at the Vere Street Theatre in London. The name of the actress who played the role of Desdemona in this production is not known, however many theatre historians have claimed that it was Margaret Hughes. Using archival research, this article explores the history of women on the Restoration stage to determine the importance of the Vere Street Desdemona and then conducts an historiographical examination of the case for Hughes as the first professional English actress. It looks in-depth at the evidence supporting this assertion and addresses the issues present in the existing historical analyses, ultimately showing that Margaret Hughes was not on the stage in London prior to 1668 and therefore could not have been the Vere Street Desdemona.
On 8 December 1660, following a long history of the prohibition of actresses in England, a femini... more On 8 December 1660, following a long history of the prohibition of actresses in England, a feminine presence took to the London stage and altered it. The addition of women to the professional stages of England led to changes in the way in which plays were written and presented. This piece explores the relationship between page and stage, looking at it as one that is mutually reflective but non-deterministic. This essay first contextualises the presence of the actress by looking at the sparsely documented contemporary theatre culture in Renaissance and Restoration England, while raising questions about the male narrative. Subsequently this piece uses a comparison of William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure with Sir William Davenant’s 1662 adaptation, titled The Law Against Lovers, to demonstrate that, at least in terms of adaptations, the feminine presence on the English stage may have resulted in a toning down of the more licentious and sexualised content in Shakespeare’s original.
Shakespeare, 2021
William Shakespeare, as a writer and actor, has recently become a popular fictional character in ... more William Shakespeare, as a writer and actor, has recently become a popular fictional character in different forms of entertainment. Conscious fictions of Shakespeare in popular culture have proliferated since the rise of participatory media. Shakespeare on Twitter (@Shakespeare) has more than 40,000 followers, while William Shakespeare (@WilliamShakespeareAuthor) on Facebook has over 16 million “likes”. In this, we can see a postmodern need to reshape Shakespeare in our own image, while simultaneously drawing on his cultural capital to either promote or challenge his work as “high” art. There have also been recent popular culture representations of Shakespeare’s actors. These representations operate as fictionalised accounts of the acting profession in Elizabethan/Jacobean England, drawing on our modern expectations and attitudes to appeal to contemporary audiences. This essay will examine modern representations of Shakespearean actors from the past twenty-five years, including the f...
M/C Journal
While the television cooking genre has evolved in numerous ways to withstand competition and beco... more While the television cooking genre has evolved in numerous ways to withstand competition and become a constant feature in television programming (Collins and College), it has been argued that audience demand for televisual cooking has always been high because of the daily importance of cooking (Hamada, “Multimedia Integration”). Early cooking shows were characterised by an instructional discourse, before quickly embracing an entertainment focus; modern cooking shows take on a more competitive, out of the kitchen focus (Collins and College). The genre has continued to evolve, with celebrity chefs and ordinary people embracing transmedia affordances to return to the instructional focus of the early cooking shows. While the television cooking show is recognised for its broad cultural impacts related to gender (Ouellette and Hay), cultural capital (Ibrahim; Oren), television formatting (Oren), and even communication itself (Matwick and Matwick), its role in the widespread adoption of te...
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Papers by Melissa Merchant