‘Your transness, your otherness is your superpower,’ transgender identities, power and representation in the UK theatre industry

The 2010s and 2020s were when transgender experiences were given a platform in all areas, from the media to the education system. The theatre industry is no exception. The academic field of UK Transgender theatre is being established, partly due to the work that is being created by prominent UK Transgender artists such as Travis Alabanza and Tabby Lamb. Current scholarly work into UK transgender theatre is scarce but comparisons can be made between other types of Othered identities that contributed to the development of a theatre aesthetic, such as gay theatre. This thesis has explored transgender theatre, through the eyes of those in the industry and to investigate alternative methods that the wider theatre industry can become more transgender friendly and to encourage new and innovative work by the transgender community. Through a mixture of original semi structured interviews, a questionnaire and secondary sources, some of the issues that transgender artists face, such as the lack of funding for actor training, and identify ways that the industry can fix these issues. This thesis has aimed to fill the gap in the academic work by exploring the issues that transgender artists face and provide some potential solutions which could be used as a stimulus for further research or a comprehensive set of industry policies.