Split Britches is an American performance troupe that has been producing work internationally since 1980. Theater scholar Sue Ellen Case asserts that the group's work "has defined the issues and terms of academic writing on lesbian theater,

butch-femme ''Butch'' and ''femme'' (; ; ) are masculine ( ''butch'') or feminine ( ''femme'') identities in the lesbian subculture that have associated traits, behaviors, styles, self-perception, and so on. This concept has been called a "way to organize ...

role-playing, feminist

mimesis Mimesis (; , ''mīmēsis'') is a term used in literary criticism and philosophy that carries a wide range of meanings, including '' imitatio'', imitation, similarity, receptivity, representation, mimicry, the act of expression, the act of ...

, and the spectacle of desire."Split Britches: Lesbian Practice/Feminist Performance, edited by Sue-Ellen Case, Routledge, 1997. Based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Split Britches maintains long-standing collaborations with several institutions, including La Mama Experimental Theatre Company (where they are a resident company), the Wow Café (co-founded by members

Peggy Shaw Peggy Shaw (born July 27, 1944) is an American actor, writer, and producer living in New York City. She is a founding member of the Split Britches and WOW Cafe Theatre, and is a recipient of several Obie Awards, including two for Best Actress f ...

and

Lois Weaver Lois Weaver (born October 26, 1949, Roanoke, Virginia) is a Guggenheim Fellowship, Guggenheim-winning American artist, activist, writer, director, and Professor of Contemporary Performance at Queen Mary University of London. She is currently a W ...

), and

Dixon Place Dixon Place is a theater organization in New York City dedicated to the development of works-in-progress from a broad range of performers and artists. It exists to serve the creative needs of artists—emerging, mid-career and established—who ...

Founding

Split Britches was founded in 1980 in New York City by

, and

Deb Margolin Deb Margolin is an American performance artist and playwright. She came to prominence in the 1980s in the feminist political theatre troupe Split Britches, which she co-founded with Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw. Margolin has since created a string ...

. Shaw and Weaver initially met in Europe during separate tours—Weaver with

Spiderwoman Theater Spiderwoman Theater is an Indigenous women's performance troupe that blends traditional art forms with Western theater. Named after Spider Grandmother from Hopi mythology, it is the longest running Indigenous theatre company in the United Sta ...

and Shaw with the performance collective Hot Peaches. Their collaboration began with Spiderwoman Theater's production ''An Evening of Disgusting Songs and Pukey Images'', marking the first time the company incorporated explicit lesbian themes and introducing Shaw as a performer within the ensemble. After deciding to depart from Spiderwoman Theater, Weaver and Shaw sought to create new work. When a fellow collaborator from the production declined to join their new venture, they invited Margolin—a writer at the time—to assist in scripting their debut piece, ''Split Britches''. Margolin subsequently became a core member of the company for over a decade.

''Split Britches, The True Story''

The name "Split Britches" references the durable, split-seam trousers worn by women working in agricultural fields, enabling them to urinate without interrupting labor. The troupe has also interpreted the title as evoking the "split pants" symbolizing both poverty and comedic absurdity. The group's foundational work, ''Split Britches, The True Story,'' originated in the summer of 1980 when Lois Weaver began crafting a performance piece inspired by her two aunts and great aunt in Virginia's

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...

. Originally developed with members of Spiderwoman Theater, the piece premiered at the inaugural WOW (Women's One World) Festival—co-founded by Peggy Shaw and Weaver—in 1980, with a follow-up staging in 1981. The finalized version of ''Split Britches'' was presented at the Boston Women's Festival in spring 1981 and the Second WOW Festival later that fall. The script was first published in the journal ''Women & Performance'' and later adapted for television, premiering on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

in 1988 under the direction of Mathew Geller through a collaboration with WGBH/WNET Television and the

New York Foundation for the Arts The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent 501(c)(3) charity, funded through government, foundation, corporate, and individual support, established in 1971. It is part of a network of national not-for-profit arts organizations ...

' Artists' New Works Program.

Operating finances

Early in their history, Split Britches adopted a self-funded financial model, opting to avoid grant applications and instead support their performances through personal income from non-artistic jobs. Peggy Shaw articulated this strategy by asserting, "It's easier to get a job than a grant." The company maintained this approach during its formative years, operating independently of institutional funding systems. However, as their reputation grew, they gradually began seeking grants to sustain and expand their work.

Artistic themes

Split Britches engages with themes of lesbian, queer, dyke, butch, and femme identities and cultures within the framework of American feminism and experimental live art movements that emerged during the 1970s. Their performances aim to create safe spaces for the exploration of non-normative sexualities and gender expressions.Shoemaker, Deanna Beth. "Queers, monsters, drag queens, and whiteness: unruly femininities in women's staged performances." (2004). Scholar Geraldine Harris situates the troupe within a "postmodern Brechtian tradition," emphasizing their focus on borders and duality in both form and content. Central to their work is the interrogation of

dynamics, alongside critiques of

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

classism Class discrimination, also known as classism, is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes, behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper class at the expense of ...

, and systemic

oppression Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment of, or exercise of power over, a group of individuals, often in the form of governmental authority. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. No universally accepted model ...

. Harris notes that Split Britches challenges the gender binary through politically charged performance strategies. The company also examines themes of fetishization,

objectification In social philosophy, objectification is the act of treating a person as an object or a thing. Sexual objectification, the act of treating a person as a mere object of sexual desire, is a subset of objectification, as is self-objectification, th ...

, and narcissistic misidentification, framing these as inextricable from broader human experiences of love, passion, and desire.

Impact and significance

In ''Split Britches: Lesbian Practice/Feminist Performance'', critic

Sue-Ellen Case Sue-Ellen Case (born 1942) is Professor and Chair of Critical Studies in the Theatre Department in the School of Theater Film and Television at the University of California, Los Angeles. She has received Lifetime Achievement Awards from both the ...

underscores the troupe’s pivotal role in shaping contemporary lesbian performance, noting their creation of a postmodern style that "embed feminist and lesbian issues of the times, economic debates, national agendas, personal relationships, and sex-radical role-playing in spectacular and humorous deconstructions of canonical texts, vaudeville shtick, cabaret forms, lip-synching satire, lyrical love scenes, and dark, frightening explorations of class and gender violence." The company has been widely credited with sustaining vital theatrical spaces for women's artistic experimentation. Their productions are frequently lauded for employing deconstructive and transformative frameworks to interrogate social norms. Rooted in

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

traditions studied within the academic field of performance studies, Split Britches' work is recognized as foundational to lesbian art that critically engages with subjectivity and identity. Their contributions have been central to advancing feminist performance theory and articulating distinct frameworks for lesbian critical theory. Scholars such as Jill Dolan (in her pioneering analysis of the feminist spectator), Sue-Ellen Case (on

aesthetics), and Alisa Solomon and Kate Davy (on feminist performance contexts) have drawn extensively on the troupe's work to inform their analyses.

Methodology

Split Britches employs a collaborative, fragmentary approach to performance creation, integrating games, fantasies, songs, dance, and monologues to interrogate themes such as female desire, power dynamics, and lesbian identity. Scholar Deanna Beth Shoemaker notes that their characters often subvert gender and sexuality binaries, particularly exploring lesbian femme identity both within and beyond butch-femme dynamics. The company's process typically begins by identifying a personal or cultural fixation—such as figures like

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

Aileen Wuornos Aileen Carol Wuornos (; born Pittman; February 29, 1956 – October 9, 2002) was an American serial killer. Between 1989 and 1990, while engaging in street prostitution along highways in Florida, Wuornos shot dead and robbed seven of her male c ...

—often drawn from popular culture. Peggy Shaw explains that such references allow the troupe to balance queer aesthetics with audience accessibility. Weaver and Shaw frequently draw inspiration from mid-20th century comedy duos like Mike Nicols and Elaine May, whose gendered humor and structural rhythms inform their own work. Subsequent stages involve list-making, where the ensemble catalogs stage ideas, social issues, cultural icons, and narrative themes. Characters are developed as composites of contradictions, which Lois Weaver describes as "loving a part of yourself and your past." Though portraying fictional roles, Weaver and Shaw infuse performances with autobiographical elements, emphasizing what Weaver calls the "option" of artifice in service of crafting emotional truth. The company then assembles found objects and musical elements before weaving these components into rehearsals. Weaver has historically served as the primary director, shaping the fragmented material into cohesive productions. In recent years, Split Britches has incorporated community engagement into their methodology, hosting workshops and dialogues often structured through formats from Weaver's ''Public Address Systems'' project to foster audience interaction and collective reflection.

Public engagement

Between 2002 and 2003, Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw conducted workshops at four women's prisons in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

as part of ''Staging Human Rights'', a project initiated by People's Palace Projects. These workshops aimed to facilitate discussions about human rights through performance-based activities with incarcerated women.

Controversies

Split Britches' incorporation of

cross-dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...

and

drag Drag or The Drag may refer to: Places * Drag, Norway, a village in Tysfjord municipality, Nordland, Norway * ''Drág'', the Hungarian name for Dragu Commune in Sălaj County, Romania * Drag (Austin, Texas), the portion of Guadalupe Street a ...

—a prevalent practice in performance art during their formative years—has sparked critical debate. Their 1991 collaborative production ''Belle Reprieve'' created with Bloolips (a gay drag performance collective), drew particular scrutiny for its subversion of

gender norms A gender role, or sex role, is a social norm deemed appropriate or desirable for individuals based on their gender or sex. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity. The specifics regarding these gendered ...

. The piece deconstructed the gender binary by featuring female performers in male drag, a reversal of the more common male-to-female drag tradition. Critics argued that this inversion inadvertently reinforced patriarchal hierarchies by centering male personas as aspirational figures. Others contended that cross-dressing as an artistic device, even when subversive, risked reifying the

gender binary The gender binary (also known as gender binarism) is the classification of gender into two distinct forms of masculine and feminine, whether by social system, Culture, cultural belief, or both simultaneously. Most cultures use a gender binary, ...

that feminist and queer movements sought to dismantle.

Awards

* 2017: ''Innovative Theatre Achievement Award'' (Split Britches) * 2014: ''Hemispheric Institute of Performance Senior Fellowship'' (Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw) * 1999: ''

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after th ...

'' – Best Performer (Peggy Shaw, for ''Menopausal Gentleman'') * 1991: ''

'' – Best Ensemble (Split Britches and Bloolips, for ''Belle Reprieve'') * 1988: ''

'' – Best Performer (Peggy Shaw, for ''Dress Suits to Hire'') * 1985: ''The Villager Award'' – Best Ensemble (Split Britches)

Shows

* ''Unexploded Ordnances (UXO)'' (2016–present) * ''RUFF'' (2012–present) * ''What Tammy Found Out'' (2012–present) * ''Lost Lounge'' (2009–2011) * ''Miss America'' (2008–2009) * ''Retro-Perspective'' (2007–present) * ''MUST'' (2007–present) * ''Diary of a Domestic Terrorist'' (2005) * ''What Tammy Needs to Know'' (2004) * ''To My Chagrin'' (2003) * ''Miss Risque'' (2001) * ''It's a Small House and We Lived in It Always'' (1999) * ''Little Women'' (1998) * ''Little Women, The Tragedy'' (1998) * ''Salad of the Bad Cafe'' (1998) * ''Valley of the Dolls'' (1997) * ''Faith and Dancing'' (1996) * ''Menopausal Gentleman'' (1996) * ''Lust and Comfort'' (1994) * ''You're Just Like My Father'' (1993) * ''Lesbians Who Kill'' (1992) * ''Anniversary Waltz'' (1990) * ''Of All The Nerve'' (1990) * ''Belle Reprieve'' (1990) * ''Little Women, The Tragedy'' (1988) * ''Dress Suits for Hire'' (1987) * ''Patience and Sarah'' (1987) * ''Upwardly Mobile Home'' (1984) * ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1982) * ''Split Britches, The True Story'' (1980)

Notes

References

*Gillespie, Benjamin. "Split Britches" in Noriega and Schildcrout (eds.) ''50 Key Figures in Queer US Theatre'', pp. 223-227. Routledge, 2022. ISBN 978-1032067964. *''Split Britches: Lesbian Practice/Feminist Performance'', edited by Sue-Ellen Case, Routledge, 1997. {{ISBN, 9780415127653

External links

SPLIT BRITCHES

the Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University
''Split Britches'' at Boston's Theater Works
1980 establishments in New York City Feminism in New York City Feminist theatre Lesbian culture in New York (state) Lesbian feminist mass media LGBTQ theatre companies LGBTQ theatre in the United States Organizations established in 1980