Abstract :

Theatre Has Served As A Medium For Challenging Gender And Sexual Norms Across Cultures. This Paper Examines How Mahesh Dattani’s Selected Three Plays Dance Like A Man, Tara, Bravely Fought The Queen And Tony Kushner’s Famous Play Angels In America Question, Resist, And Redefine Traditional Gender Roles And Non-normative Sexual Identities. While Kushner’s Play Critiques Heteronormativity Through The Lens Of The AIDS Crisis And Political Power, Dattani’s Works Expose Patriarchal Oppression, Family Dynamics, And Gender Expectations In Urban Indian Settings. By Applying Thematic Analysis Of Judith Butler’s Gender Performativity, Sara Ahmed’s Queer Phenomenology, And Michel Foucault’s Discourse On Sexuality, This Study Highlights How Both Playwrights Portray The Tensions Between Personal Identity And Societal Expectations. While Angels In America Foregrounds Homosexuality And Political Struggle, Dattani’s Plays Focus On How Individuals Navigate Family And Societal Pressures Concerning Gender And LGBTQ+ Identities. This Comparative Analysis Reveals How Both Playwrights Use Theatre As A Transformative Space, Kushner Engaging In Political Activism And Dattani In Cultural Resistance, Creating A Cross-cultural Dialogue On Gender, Sexuality, And Identity Politics. Keywords: Gender Performativity, LGBTQ+ Theatre, Tony Kushner, Mahesh Dattani, Social Expectations, Familial Conflict

Published:

21-6-2025

Issue:

Vol. 25 No. 6 (2025)

Page Nos:

605-617

Section:

Articles

License:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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