Hope, Performative Diversity and re-production: Hamilton and COVID-era Politics

ABSTRACT

During the COVID-19 pandemic, theatres around the world closed and performances moved online. Consequently, when the musical Hamilton opened in March 2021 in Australia, it was the only version of the show being performed live on stage anywhere in the world and was marketed as a ‘beacon of hope’ for the performing arts industry [Crompton, S. 2017, Francis, L., and Ky, J. 2021, Millar, L. 2021]. Hamilton’s story is based on White American grand narratives such as the War of Independence, nation building and a ‘bootstraps’ mentality, which have traditionally excluded persons of colour; however, the musical primarily features Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) performers. After its debut in the US, Hamilton was praised for its diverse storytelling [Clark, J. 2015. Gardner, E. 2015, Quinn, D. 2015.] and this narrative has been repeated for the Australian re-production. Through the lens of racial neoliberal inclusion, this paper explores the COVID-era Australian re-production of Hamilton, interrogating how diversity is performed and the impact the global pandemic has had on these performances. However, while the internal message of the show remains problematic, the depth brought by Indigenous performers in particular, marks a shift in Australian theatre culture.

KEYWORDS:

• Racial neoliberal inclusion
• performative diversity
• performance
• musical theatre
• COVID-19

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the cast and crew of Hamilton Australia and to thank the reviewers of this paper for their invaluable advice. The authors would also like to acknowledge that the research for this paper was predominantly conducted on the lands of the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation and that Sovereignty has never been ceded. It always was and always will be, Aboriginal land.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sarah Courtis

Sarah Courtis, PhD (Murdoch University, Western Australia) is an Associate Lecturer of Career Learning and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). She also teaches at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and is a member of the Australian Music Theatre Roundtable. Her research focus is the lyric in musical theatre and most recently she has been investigating the intersection of lyrics with race theory, disability studies and Queer theory. Dr Courtis works professionally as a stage manager and actor, most recently in the comedy award winning Bogan Shakespeare production of Julius Caesar.

Melissa Merchant

Melissa Merchant, PhD (Murdoch University, Western Australia) is currently Academic Chair of English and Creative Arts and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). Her most recent research is divided between contemporary performativity and Shakespeare adaptations. She has contributed to Journal of Postcolonial Writing, The Seventeenth Century, Outskirts, and M/C Journal, and published a chapter in The Routledge Companion to Disability and the Media (2020). Dr Merchant is also a professional actress who has performed in cross-cultural collaborations in Southeast Asia in partnership with the University of Malaya and the Temple of Fine Arts, Malaysia.

Ellin Sears

Ellin Sears, PhD (Murdoch University, Western Australia) is a researcher and creative arts practitioner as well as an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA). Her doctoral research investigated the functions of musical theatre dance through the lens of audience reception and she currently teaches in career learning as well as in theatre and drama. Her other research interests include; acting for digital roleplay simulation, dance and music theatre, theatre in education, and Shakespeare studies. Dr Sears is a Simulation Specialist as part of the award winning Murdoch University Education SimlabTM, and works professionally as an actor, dancer, director/choreographer, and performer. She is also a member of the Music Theatre Research Roundtable.