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Topic

Representation of Middle Eastern Masculinities in Canadian Theatre

Department of Theatre

Date & location

• Tuesday, August 19, 2025
• 10:30 A.M.
• Fine Arts Building, Room 106

Examining Committee

Supervisory Committee

• Dr. Allana Lindgren, Department of Theatre, University of Victoria (Supervisor)
• Dr. Sasha Kovacs, Department of Theatre, UVic (Member)
• Dr. Peyman Vahabzadeh, Department of Sociology, UVic (Outside Member)

External Examiner

• Dr. Yana Meerzon, Department of Theatre, University of Ottawa

Chair of Oral Examination

• Dr. Michael Bodden, Department of Pacific and Asian Studies, UVic

Abstract

This dissertation examines how Middle Eastern masculinities are constructed, disrupted, and contested in Canadian theatre, arguing that cultural representation is not merely a matter of narrative or character but is materially structured and ideologically mediated through dramaturgical form. Drawing on Stuart Hall’s theories of identity and signification alongside Fredric Jameson’s analysis of cultural production under late capitalism, the study synthesizes two strands of cultural studies to explore how identity is simultaneously produced through representation and structured by historical contradictions embedded in aesthetic systems. Incorporating frameworks from masculinity studies and postcolonial critique, the dissertation offers a structural reading of six theatrical productions, revealing how dramaturgical strategies construct, destabilize, or reify stereotypes of Middle Eastern masculinities. Analyzing works that range from adaptations of Persian epics to collaborative political satires and testimonial solo pieces, the research demonstrates that masculinity is not simply portrayed but actively constituted through choices in genre, staging, visual logic, and narrative structure. It further argues that theatrical form functions as an ideological field, wherein representations of Middle Eastern masculinity unfold along a dramaturgical spectrum, from stereotypical portrayals shaped by abstraction, ambiguity or semiotic incoherence, which render identity susceptible to stereotyping, to historically grounded, formally coherent depictions that offer multi-layered, critical, and nuanced alternatives. The study develops a methodology for analyzing how stereotypes are staged, reinforced, or subverted in Canadian theatre, contributing to discourses in cultural and performance studies on stereotypical representation, to masculinity studies on the staging of non-hegemonic male identities, and to postcolonial scholarship on the aesthetic politics of multiculturalism.