Women, Theatre and Performance Ecology Feminism in

This book provides the first extensive history of feminism and ecology in performance. It proposes ‘composting’ as a new method for writing feminist history, re-reading canonical artists and analysing contemporary practices to show how performance challenges ecocidal culture from 1962 to the present. From land art to postdramatic theatre, feminist performance has consistently challenged the anti-ecological ideologies that underpin Western modernity. Charting a course from the 1960s, when artists first began to intertwine ecological concerns with feminist critique, to the urgent environmental crises of our time, this study proposes ‘composting’ as a powerful new method for navigating this complex history. This approach conceives of feminist history not as a linear progression of waves, but as a regenerative process in which past ideas are broken down to nourish present-day practices. Sifting through the foundational performances of artists such as Judy Chicago, Ana Mendieta, Rachel Rosenthal and Carolee Schneemann, the study analyses how this rich material provides the fertile ground for contemporary practitioners. It traces how these early experiments with embodiment, more-than-human kinship, and the ideological linkage of woman and nature are, for example, reconfigured in the decolonial politics of Rebecca Belmore, give rise to the queer ecologies in Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens, and are metabolised in the trans performances of Tosh Basco (boychild). By placing ecofeminism in dialogue with feminist new materialism, queer ecology, and transecological thought, this study demonstrates how performance has been a crucial site for imagining more just and sustainable futures in an age of environmental crisis. This book provides a vital new history of feminist performance through an ecological lens. It argues that from the 1960s to the present, artists have used performance to challenge the linked oppression of women and nature. Proposing ‘composting’ as a new method for writing feminist history, the study moves beyond linear narratives to trace regenerative connections between generations of practitioners. It provides sustained analysis of genres from land art to postdramatic theatre, re-evaluating the work of canonical figures while examining how contemporary artists continue to address these urgent themes. By placing ecofeminism in dialogue with feminist new materialism, queer ecology, and transecological thought, this study demonstrates how performance has been a crucial site for imagining more just and sustainable futures in an age of environmental crisis.