Funny business: disability, humor, and performance in theatre and drag spaces

Thomas, Gareth ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4959-2337 2025. Funny business: disability, humor, and performance in theatre and drag spaces. Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research

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Abstract

Disability and humor have an uneasy relationship. Research on disability and humor, particularly when concerned with learning-disabled adults, frequently raises questions of comprehension and highlights the potential for ridicule. Yet, we know very little about the role of humor in the lives of learning-disabled adults. Drawing on observations of a theatre group and a drag group for learning-disabled adults, and on interviews with theatre/drag staff and parents of learning-disabled adult children, I recognize learning-disabled adults as instigators, rather than objects, of humor. Humor is a prominent feature of training spaces and serves various functions, including cultivating a sense of belonging and connection. In public performances, the humor activities of learning-disabled adults, and approving reactions of audience members, reassert the agency, capabilities, and humanity of performers. Despite tensions, such as fears of mockery and exploitation, I recognize how humor is enacted in ways that dismantle a deficit scripting of disabled lives.

Item Type:	Article
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Publisher:	Stockholm University Press
ISSN:	1745-3011
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	1 October 2025
Date of Acceptance:	1 October 2025
Last Modified:	02 Oct 2025 10:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/181440

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