The veil of queer aesthetics: Lindsay Kemp and the subtext of gay desire in Oscar Wilde's 'Salome'

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Title The veil of queer aesthetics: Lindsay Kemp and the subtext of gay desire in Oscar Wilde's 'Salome'
Creator Contributors
Abstract/Description Considering the problematic relationship between Oscar Wilde's symbolist tragedy 'Salome' (1891) and the London stage, it is not surprising that the first professional production to be performed in London for over two decades was staged by the Lindsay Kemp Company at the Roundhouse in 1977. In order to elucidate Kemp's interpretation of the Dance of the Seven Veils and examine his production's ability to engender controversy, this article conducts a semiological study of the artist's unique choice of an original and eccentric queer aesthetic. This study recognises the manner in which Kemp's bold and unexpected queer reading of 'Salome' enhances the interpretative drive to articulate the subtext of gay desire present in Oscar Wilde's most misunderstood play.
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Source Australasian Drama Studies, ADSA, VIC
Issue 74
Page 264-290
Date Issued April 2019
Language English
ISSN 0810-4123
Citation Gerrard Carter, The veil of queer aesthetics: Lindsay Kemp and the subtext of gay desire in Oscar Wilde's 'Salome', Australasian Drama Studies, 74, April 2019, 264-290
Data Set AusStage
Resource Identifier 68807