Reclaiming the Dame: Cross-Dressing as Queen Victoria in British Theatre and Television Comedy

Benjamin Poore

doi:10.1386/cost.3.2.177_1

Reclaiming the Dame: Cross-Dressing as Queen Victoria in British Theatre and Television Comedy

Benjamin Poore

Theatre, Film, TV and Interactive Media

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This essay discusses recent appearances of Queen Victoria in television sketch comedy, tracing common tropes that have held fast since the nineteenth century, while arguing that Victoria's recent manifestations are more directly a response to heritage cinema and television, than a reaction to the anti-Establishment attitudes of the 1960s. In particular, the article focuses on the comedic history of Queen Victoria being played by a man, and considers what it means in terms of gender theory when a 'pantomime Dame' figure is reclaimed by women.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	177-190
Number of pages	13
Journal	Comedy Studies
Volume	3
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1386/cost.3.2.177_1
Publication status	Published - Sept 2012
Event	The Horror, the Humour: Satire and Dark Comedy in a Postmodern World - Lincoln, United Kingdom Duration: 9 Oct 2010 → 9 Oct 2010

Keywords

Heritage
nostalgia
Victorians
Dickens
Bronte sisters

Access to Document

10.1386/cost.3.2.177_1

Cite this

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abstract = "This essay discusses recent appearances of Queen Victoria in television sketch comedy, tracing common tropes that have held fast since the nineteenth century, while arguing that Victoria's recent manifestations are more directly a response to heritage cinema and television, than a reaction to the anti-Establishment attitudes of the 1960s. In particular, the article focuses on the comedic history of Queen Victoria being played by a man, and considers what it means in terms of gender theory when a 'pantomime Dame' figure is reclaimed by women.",

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