Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Myhill, Nova

Area of Concentration

Literature with Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies Secondary Field

Abstract

This thesis is a three part analysis of three different plays from Thomas Kilroy: The Death and Resurrection of Mr. Roche (1968), The Secret Fall of Constance Wilde (1997), and My Scandalous Life (2004). Chapter 1 examines Mr. Roche through a textual lens, utilizing Jeffery Jerome Cohen’s monster theory to read how Irish men in the mid-20th century react to threats of masculinity. Chapter 2 looks at three different stage performances, two stagings of The Secret Fall of Constance Wilde and one of My Scandalous Life. These two plays are sequential to each other and build off of the same themes. Through analyzing all three productions in aspects such as set design, costume choices, and non-character actor performances, I examine what these two plays say about autonomy in relation to gender, sexuality, and nationality. Chapter 3 returns to Mr. Roche and uses the character analysis to create a hypothetical design concept that would highlight the ideas of queer masculinity on a stage. All three sections come together to argue how the intersection of Irish national identity and queerness appear to cause struggle and crisis for individuals, specifically in the late 19th and 20th centuries.

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