Dismantling the trope of the hypersexual Romani woman in Dan Allum’s Carmen, the Gypsy

The present paper examines the cultural formation of the wanton Romani woman, most notably present in Georges Bizet’s Carmen, and its deconstruction in Dan Allum’s Carmen, the Gypsy, a contemporary adaptation of the original Prosper Mérimée novella. As an archetype for the seductive, overtly sexual, and immoral ‘Gypsy’ woman, Carmen was both an objection of the white heterosexual male gaze and a juxtaposition to the proper female behaviour in Europe during the 19th and the 20th centuries. While this representation fed the male sexual fantasy about the exotic ‘Gypsy’ woman, it allowed violence and sexual trafficking of Romani women. Depicting Carmen as a sexually independent woman whose desire is to break free of the masculine traditions of her Romani community, Dan Allum’s play provides a remarkable alternative to the antigypsy gaze. It not only captures the complexities and struggles of women within the Romani community but also breaks with the view that Romani women have no power over their own sexuality and life.