The Ridiculous Performance of Taylor Mac

Taylor Mac is a contemporary actor and playwright who carries on the tradition of Charles Ludlam’s (1943–87) Ridiculous Theatre for the twenty-first century. One of the first fully realized queer theatre forms in the United States, the Stonewall-era Ridiculous juxtaposed the modernist tradition of the avant-garde with camp, clowning, and drag. By layering Ludlam’s signature clown with the alternative persona of the fool, Mac provocatively reinvents the Ridiculous, employing it as a tool for political satire. This essay traces Mac’s development as a neo-Ridiculous artist in response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, analyzing four of his foundational works from this period: The Face of Liberalism (2003), Red Tide Blooming (2006), The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac (2006), and The Young Ladies of . . . (2007). In these key performances, Mac seeks both to resurrect and transform predecessors like Ludlam, providing an example of queer legacy in action.