Johnson  , Stephen

Schweitzer, Marlis

English

University of New Brunswick: Centre for Digital Scholarship Journals

Gender and Empire: Performing Masculinity in Nineteenth-Century CanadaMARLIS SCHWEITZER (with Stephen Johnson)1This issue of Theatre Research in Canada responds to a challenging question posed by JerryWasserman at the 2010 meeting of the Canadian Association for Theatre Research. Duringone of the sessions, Jerry commented on what he perceived as the relative absence of panelsaddressing Canadian theatre and performance history, especially pre-twentieth-centurytopics; he queried whether this was representative of recent developments in the field. Myfirst thought was “No, of course not. Many of us are working on historical projects.” But Irealized that Jerry had a point. At that time, it was quite rare to see an entire CATR panel ofpapers on pre-twentieth century material. In the days that followed, I approached severalcolleagues about developing a session for the following year’s conference with the expressgoal of demonstrating that pre-twentieth century performance scholarship was alive andwell in Canada. After some discussion, we decided to build the panel around explorations ofempire and masculinity in the pre-Confederation period; this topic struck us as both impor-tant and timely in light of Canada’s post-9/11 involvement in neo-imperialist projects. This issue features expanded versions of four papers first presented at the 2011 CATRmeeting in response to Jerry’s call. Like that session, this issue aims to advance existing schol-arship on gender and empire by examining the performance of masculinity in colonialCanada. We draw inspiration from the emergence of “the new imperial history,” a scholarlydevelopment in cultural history that remains attentive to political and economic events—the hallmark of “old” imperial history—while considering the emotional, psychological, andphysical lives of imperial subjects, alongside those of colonial governors, military forces, andadministrators. In collections such as Philippa Levine’s Gender and Empire or Ann LauraStoler’s Haunted By Empire, scholars have analyzed how European imperial objectives bothinformed and were shaped by shifting gender ideologies at “home.” Such scholarship not onlyacknowledges the centrality of women in the construction, administration, and celebrationof empire, but also asks how definitions of masculinity shifted in response to colonial encoun-ters, conflicts, and responsibilities. This issue pushes the “new imperial history” further byemphasizing the importance of performance to the formation, maintenance, and disruptionof imperial ties and colonial gender identities.Though differing in focus and scope, the articles gathered here investigate how theimperatives of the British imperialist project informed the lives of the thousands of menwho served as colonial administrators, military personnel, journalists, and business leaders.By exploring performances that occurred outside formal theatre spaces—city streets, privatehomes, battlefields, newspapers—these articles also push at the boundaries of theatre historyscholarship. “Historically, most theatre work has happened outside of the institutionalizedtheatre,” Alan Filewod observes in Committing Theatre, but much of this “theatre work” hasTRIC / RTAC • 35.1 / 2014 • PP 1-8 • Gender and Empire / Genre et empire 1INTRODUCTIONyet to be uncovered because theatre historians of the nineteenth century have, until recently,focused much of their attention on “building detailed performance calendars and recon-structing conditions of performance” (3). Although Filewod does not deny the value of suchprojects, he promotes a much broader definition of theatrical performance, one not delim-ited by theatre buildings or dramatic stagings. The authors here share Filewod’s investmentin unearthing the lively complexities of nineteenth-century performance culture in Canada,particularly the complex relationship between individual performances of self and collectiveperformances of belonging. In “Romulus and Ritual in the Beverly Swamp: A Freemason Dreams of Theatre in Pre-confederation Ontario,” Stephen Johnson excavates the fascinating story of Henry Lamb, apioneer settler who in the 1820s and 1830s fantasized about transforming the swampland ofthe Beverly Township into a glorious new city. Johnson skillfully demonstrates that Lamb’sfreemasonic connections guided his plans for Romulus, which he designed to include sport-ing grounds, a concert hall, and a “first-class theater” (10). But in fashioning himself as afounding father, Lamb “misjudged his community” and failed to appreciate the dynamicperformance culture that surrounded him in the form of “outdoor rituals and kitchen parties,tavern songs and mechanics hall meetings” (11). What emerges, then, is the story of a man“intent on the orderly, architectural administration of society in a world of improvisedspaces”  (11): his vision of civilization was ultimately incompatible with the realities of life inthe swamp. Heather Davis-Fisch also explores competing performances of civilization amongsettler-colonists in “Lawless Lawyers: Indigeneity, Civility, and Violence.” She revisits theTypes Riots of June 1826, when several young members of the Family Compact, UpperCanada’s elite governing authority, protested William Lyon Mackenzie’s vitriolic editorialsby disguising themselves as “Indians” and ransacking his newspaper office. While comparingthis performance of authority and discipline to other folk protests and charivari, Davis-Fischmaintains that the rioters’ elite status and their “choice of how to perform their civilizedauthority [. . .] demonstrates inherent contradictions in how power was enacted in UpperCanada”  (31). By dressing up as “Indians”, the rioters exposed the paradoxical relationshipbetween “gentlemanly power” and “savage retribution,” thereby exposing the ruthlessnessand violence that lay beneath the Family Compact’s civilized façade. Where Davis-Fisch looks at tensions among settler-colonists in their pursuit of powerand authority, I consider how the arrival of foreign acting companies provoked debates aboutgentlemanly behaviour. In “An ‘Unmanly and Insidious Attack’: Child Actress Jean Davenportand the Performance of Masculinity in 1840s Jamaica and Newfoundland,” I analyze thecontroversies surrounding the cross-dressed performances of the child actress Jean MargaretDavenport, whom her father/manager Thomas Davenport favourably compared to therecently deceased actor Edmund Kean. When well-positioned critics rejected this assessment,accusing Davenport of trying to deceive colonial audiences, they initiated heated discussionsabout “the responsibilities of theatre audiences and critics, definitions of gentlemanly behav-ior, and the relationship between colonial-settlers and strangers from the metropole” (51). Bycomparing reactions to Jean Davenport in colonial Jamaica and Newfoundland, I point tostriking similarities in the way British colonial-settlers responded to questions of civility andmasculinity, despite other cultural and social differences. INTRODUCTION2 Gender and Empire / Genre et empire • PP 1-8 • Spring 2014 / 35.1 • TRIC / RTAC Roberta Barker likewise traces the transmission of ideas, ideologies, gestures, and playsacross colonial borders. Aligning herself with the “transnational turn” and other recentefforts to trace the flow of bodies, ideas, and performance forms across national borders,Barker maps the transatlantic circulation of the “gallant invalid,” a character type that orig-inated in Alexandre Dumas père and Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois’s 1833 drama Angèle. Thisfigure was known for his emotional and physical vulnerability and his willingness to sacrificehimself for the benefit of others. With humour and precision, Barker argues that “perfor-mances of this type shaped both British imperial mythology and an emergent form ofCanadian political heroism” (69), seen most notably in the representation of General JamesWolfe (this issue’s cover model) and the self-fashioning of Sir Wilfrid Laurier.Two Forum pieces complement the issue’s thematic emphasis on gender, empire, andCanadian theatre history. The first Forum, “Canadian Performance Genealogies,” is an editedversion of a round table conversation staged at the 2013 Canadian Association for TheatreResearch conference. Taking as a starting point Joseph Roach’s concept of performancegenealogies and Raymond Williams’s notion of the “keyword,” the six round table partici-pants (Heather Davis-Fisch, Roberta Barker, Laura Levin, Kim Solga, Kirsty Johnston, andmyself) propose a variety of keywords for approaching Canadian theatre and performancehistory in fresh, new ways. In “Women’s Theatre Festivals as Counterpublics: Groundswell,FemFest, and The Riveter Series,” Shelley Scott surveys recent trends in women’s theatrefestivals. Drawing from Nancy Fraser’s articulation of “counterpublics,” she presents acompelling argument for the “continued relevancy of women’s festivals as venues for newplay development” (103). Scott’s piece reminds readers of the importance of attending togender equity within the theatre profession, supporting the issue’s overall emphasis on seeinggender as “a useful category for historical analysis” (J. Scott). SWriting now from my role as TRiC Editor, I want to mention some important changesand additions to our masthead. First, I am very pleased to welcome Roberta Barker, SusanBennett, Erin Hurley, and Glen Nichols to our Editorial Board. Collectively, they bring yearsof experience as editors and scholars to our already strong board membership. Second, I’mdelighted to announce that Michelle MacArthur will be taking over the role of Book ReviewEditor as of January 2014. Michelle will replace current Book Review Editor Erin Hurley,who leaves the position but not (thankfully) the journal. Throughout her four-year tenure,Erin has overseen dozens of reviews. Her conscientious efforts to cover publications inEnglish and French and her commitment to soliciting reviews from a wide range of authors(graduate students, early career scholars, later career scholars) both from within and outsideCanada have made a tremendous contribution to the journal. Thank you, Erin, for your yearsof service.Finally, as you’ve probably noticed, the journal has undergone a rather dramatic facelift.For this, I am indebted to our Executive Editor, Barry Freeman, for spearheading the changeand to our designer, Louis Duarte, for his fresh, innovative ideas. We’re thrilled with TRiC’snew look and hope you are too. TRIC / RTAC • 35.1 / 2014 • PP 1-8 • Gender and Empire / Genre et empire 3INTRODUCTIONNotes1 I am grateful for the support of my colleague, Stephen Johnson, who in 2011 suggested that Ipropose a special issue to then-editor of TRiC Glen Nichols. At the time I had no other affilia-tion with the journal and the articles for this issue were submitted for peer review under Glen’seditorship.Works CitedFilewod, Alan. Committing Theatre: Theatre Radicalism and Political Intervention in Canada. Toronto:Between the Lines, 2011. Print. Levine, Philippa. Gender and Empire. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2007. Print. Scott, Joan Wallach. “Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis.” The American HistoricalReview 91.5 (Dec. 1986): 1053-1075. Web. 13 Sept 2013. Stoler, Ann Laura, ed. Haunted By Empire: Geographies of Intimacy in North American History. Durhamand London: Duke UP, 2006. Print.INTRODUCTION4 Gender and Empire / Genre et empire • PP 1-8 • Spring 2014 / 35.1 • TRIC / RTAC 

Gender and Empire: Performing Masculinity in Nineteenth-Century Canada

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Gender and Empire: Performing Masculinity in Nineteenth-Century Canada

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