Theatre and the Hereafter: Indigenous Death Rituals in Tara Beagan’s Honour Beat and Postmortem Avatars in David Farr’s A Dead Body in Taos
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-7-2026
Abstract
The notion of immortality has continuously preoccupied humanity, and dying is no longer synonymous with ceasing to exist. This article examines Tara Beagan’s Honour Beat (2019) and David Farr’s A Dead Body in Taos (2022) bringing together Indigenous and Western theatre. Drawing on Gloria Anzaldúa’s (1942–2004) Borderland theory, it highlights the third-space which challenges the existence of the living and the exit of the dying, and capitalizes on death as a profitable business. Thus, the article examines the changing experience of death during the digital age, by juxtaposing the Indigenous and Western communication with the deceased, the engineering of paradises, and the evolving experiences of grief, mourning, and longevity with its Western counterparts.
Recommended Citation
Khalil, Rania M Rafik. (2026). Theatre and the Hereafter: Indigenous Death Rituals in Tara Beagan’s Honour Beat and Postmortem Avatars in David Farr’s A Dead Body in Taos. ALIF: Journal of Comparative Poetics, Issue 46, p.1–27.