PhDThis doctoral thesis examines theatre as a site for counteracting hegemonic
representations of the nation. My focus is on three contemporary Latin American theatre
companies and the ways in which they stage the sense of place of the port cities where
they are based. By examining these groups’ explorations of the political and social
imaginaries related to these ports, I aim to determine how theatre can challenge
essentialised discourses of national identity.
An examination of the Peruvian theatre group Yuyachkani allows me to look at the
place of indigenous peoples in Lima. Through a discussion of Catalinas Sur, based in
Buenos Aires, I highlight the cultural identities newly produced and those erased as a
consequence of mid-nineteenth-century European immigration to the city. The focus on
Bando de Teatro Olodum facilitates a consideration of struggles against racial
discrimination towards Afro-Brazilians in Salvador, Bahia.
I propose close readings of specific productions devised by these troupes that
concentrate on three main topics. The first of these is migration, examining how
foreigners have infused difference in these ports. The second theme looks at
conceptions of time and the third considers notions of space. In all three cases the focus
allows for a questioning of dominant discourses on modernity, order and progress. Such
rhetoric has been equally predominant in Peru, Brazil and Argentina and has justified
exclusivist accounts of the nation since the early histories of these republics. Through
recourse to performance analysis, I examine theatre’s capacity to shift the focal point of
interest towards the borders of mainstream society. My claim is that this perspective
allows room for presences that have been historically rendered mute and also helps to
draw attention to modes of social and political organisation that differ from those
naturalised by national elites.Queen Mary University of London
Society for Latin American Studies (SLAS, UK)
