For many drag performers, the theatre was a launching pad for their eventual drag career, which should come as no surprise given the theatre’s vast history with gender fluidity, most notably in the time of everybody’s favorite bard: William Shakespeare. The artform has taken many turns since then, becoming a celebration of gender and gender expression rather than a means by which to exclude women (more on that in a bit). While many are familiar with the Elizabethan practice, there resides a dark history beneath the iambic pentameter.
[Before we continue, it is important to make this distinction: cross-dressing when referenced here refers to wearing clothing typical of the opposite sex and is never used here to refer to transgender community, nor should it ever be used to reflect or diminish the transgender community.]
In the 17th century, women were banned from performing in the theater as it was a well established belief that the theater was full of criminals and prostitutes (which, unfortunately, was not a misguided assumption). Although women would later perform in operas, this was practice was unpleasing to the Christian church, which believed it was impure and improper for a woman to appear on the stage. The church was so opposed that in operas, castrati were often utilized to perform the roles, requiring young males to be castrated before the singer hit puberty or who never reached sexual maturity as the result of an endocrinological condition.
But what was a bard to do without any women to play the female roles? The theatre turned to cross dressing to portray women on stage, often using young boys to achieve a less masculine figure and sound. These boys were apprentices of Shakespeare, meaning they often had received little, if any, prior training. Shakespeare in turn kept the roles of women in his plays simple so the young performers would be able to handle their part. Not unsurprisingly, the female characters in Shakespeare’s plays (and others of the time) were largely there to support the male characters, to back up the story, or to encourage the dashing male to simply be a better person (such as in the Scottish play that shall not be named, although we see how well that actually turned out for those characters). Such observations can also be made in Romeo and Juliet, when Juliet spends much of her time searching for Romeo, even pleading “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?”
But cross dressing in the 17th century lead to malicious theatrical practices. So called “child-catchers” would stalk the streets, prowling for young boys to force onto the stage under the threat of whipping, both noble and pauper alike. Queen Elizabeth I even signed warrants allowing the practice, which gave the theatres a free pass. Once there, the boys would be forced to perform in the plays dressed as women as well as perform “overtly sexual material," often in the alleyways of theatres with all-male audiences, putting more profit into the hands of the theatre. Professor Michael Dobson, director of the Shakespeare Institute, refutes this claim citing a lack of evidence, but there remains much controversy over the practice.
Whether this practice did occur or not, it is impossible to disregard the impact cross dressing had on the portrayal of gender on the stage. Cross dressing was used to create a reflection of what society sees as an ideal man or woman to draw in an audience, although often relying on stereotypes to convey the message. This is most notably witnessed in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, which features rich themes of gender and sexuality. The Globe Theatre, the original home of Shakespeare’s plays, has performed Twelfth Night under the traditional practice of having males play the female roles, although they stick to men for these roles as opposed to the young boys. Other productions, such as the National Theatre’s 2017 rendition of Twelfth Night in London, have opted for even greater gender swaps, changing some traditionally male characters to female characters still played by males and even the first recorded appearance of a drag queen in the show. Cross dressing was also used in Cheek by Jowl’s production of As You Like It, with men playing the part of the female characters.
Shakespeare's fascination of gender also became inspiration for the 1996 film Romeo and Juliet staring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. In the film, Mercutio, played by Harold Perrineau, is flashy from the very beginning of the film, adorned in a two piece, heels, smeared vibrant red lipstick, a wig, and of course, ecstasy. Mercutio then takes the stage at the Capulet's party and lip syncs "Young Hearts, Run Free" in full drag along with some flashy back up dancers. And of course, like any Shakespearean work, there were plenty of references to genitalia to really make the overall theme of gender in the work ~pop~.
Although the Elizabethan practice is under much scrutiny today, without it, we may not have the drag art form as we see it in modern media. The art form has certainly come a long way since the times of Shakespeare, but the influence these plays and practices had have withstood the test of time.
-Sarah Schorle
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