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August 27 |
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Takarazuka Revue |
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The Allure of Gender-Bending Musical Theatre |
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Leonie Stickland |
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The Takarazuka Revue is a musical theatre company known for lavishly-costumed performances by all-female casts who play both male and female roles. Celebrating its 100th birthday this year, Takarazuka continues to entertain and delight audiences in Japan, yet remains relatively unknown beyond its borders.
In this talk, Leonie Stickland draws upon more than four decades of personal involvement with Takarazuka—as a fan, an employee of the company, and ultimately as a doctoral researcher into the motivations, attitudes and experiences of performers and their fans. Through video clips and images of actual performances and performers, she gives an insight into the company’s history, the actors’ performance of gender on and off stage, and the distinctive fan culture surrounding them all. |
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| About Leonie Stickland |
Dr. Leonie Stickland began learning Japanese after seeing the Takarazuka Revue in Japan in 1970, with the secret aim of joining the company. Her dream was realised in 1989 when she became an in-house translator and voice actor for Takarazuka, producing English-language audio dramatizations of its productions. Dr. Stickland now lectures in Japanese at Murdoch University, and is the author of Gender Gymnastics: Performing and Consuming Japan’s Takarazuka Revue. |
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| Photo: Takarazuka Revue |
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