TY - JOUR
T1 - No Joke in Petticoats
T2 - British Polar Expeditions and Their Theatrical Presentations
AU - Pearson, Mike
N1 - Pearson, Mike, 'No Joke in Petticoats: British Polar Expeditions and Their Theatrical Presentations', The Drama Review (2006) 48(1) pp.44-59
RAE2008
PY - 2006
Y1 - 2006
N2 - By late March 1902, the British National Antarctic Expedition's ship Discovery was frozen in. Atop the ice, the explorers erected a hut, which was fitted with a stage, scenery, and footlights. The Royal Terror Theatre opened in June with Ticket-of-Leave and climaxed in August with a minstrel show. In the icy darkness white men played women and black men, parodied and critiqued structures of power, reinforced attitudes of racial prejudice, and labored at activities that saved their sanity if not their lives. The prolonged engagement in play challenges the easy narrative of courage, endurance, and heroic survival usually associated with polar expeditions.
AB - By late March 1902, the British National Antarctic Expedition's ship Discovery was frozen in. Atop the ice, the explorers erected a hut, which was fitted with a stage, scenery, and footlights. The Royal Terror Theatre opened in June with Ticket-of-Leave and climaxed in August with a minstrel show. In the icy darkness white men played women and black men, parodied and critiqued structures of power, reinforced attitudes of racial prejudice, and labored at activities that saved their sanity if not their lives. The prolonged engagement in play challenges the easy narrative of courage, endurance, and heroic survival usually associated with polar expeditions.
U2 - 10.1162/105420404772990664
DO - 10.1162/105420404772990664
M3 - Article
SN - 1054-2043
VL - 48
SP - 44
EP - 59
JO - TDR
JF - TDR
IS - 1
ER -