Figure dell’abiezione. corpi che contano nel teatro di Annibale Ruccello

Abstract

This study offers an analysis of the play The Five Roses of Jennifer(1980) by Annibale Ruccellofrom a gender studies perspective. Recognised as the moment of affirmation of the author's dramaturgical originality, this play has been at the centre of debate not only for its peculiar relationship with Neapolitan theatrical tradition, but also for the intertextual references to the English stage production. Within this debate, Jennifer and her story have been interpreted, from time to time, as the allegory of Naples decadence. The analysis proposed here aims to read the story focusing on the(trans)gender identity of the protagonist, and to detect those textual elements that prevent her from finding an upstanding space of existence, thus relegating her into abjection. After taking into consideration the importance of the protagonist’s performances linked to the drag world, the research will contextualize her exclusion from society and consequent suicide. This death is the sad result of a toxic hetero normative environment in which the text itself was conceived and staged.