Performing 'Monstrosity' on the British Stage, 1637-1737

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Tracing performances of 'monstrosity' in diverse dramatic forms, ranging from 1630s court masques to theexperimental theatre staged around the 1737 Licensing Act, this project explores stage 'monsters' and theextraordinarily embodied performers portraying them. By demonstrating that stage 'monsters' frequentlytranscend their status as signs to be read by talking back, it asks whether performing 'monstrosity'enabled extraordinarily embodied performers to exercise agency. It proposes a novel theoreticalframework describing the theatrical processes through which creators and performers imbued stage'monsters' with meaning and explores ways in which audiences experienced, interacted with and relatedto staged portrayals of 'monstrosity'.