Theatre of The Absurd Context Originates post WWII

Theatre of The Absurd

Context • Originates post WWII, beginning in Europe (mid 1940 s) • Came from a school of thought that could find “no rational explanation for human life”. This is reflected in the characters in this genre. • The playwright asks us to “draw our own conclusions” and make of it what we will. • This theatre genre is unfamiliar to many and may make us uncomfortable.

Context - Existentialism • Theater of the Absurd began at the same time as existentialism. • Jean-Paul Sartre (Play - No Exit): “Man is only what he does. Man becomes what he chooses to be. ” • The existentialists often cited Hitler’s Nazi Germany and the atrocities of the Holocaust as examples of the dangers of conformity.

Context - Ideas • Albert Camus: “There is no cause and effect. ” • Truth is not knowable. • Human beings are individually responsible for the decisions they make and for accepting the consequences of those decisions. • Human decisions affect other people. • The most courageous human act is to make a decision and live with the consequences

Common. Themes • Alienation and isolation from other humans • Alienation from history and culture • Alienation from social and physical environment • Disharmony with nature • Chaotic and disorderly life • Failure of communication • Lack of religious certainty

Characters • Do not have names, jobs or backgrounds or ”generic” • Have no control over what happens to them (no power) • Aren’t what you would expect eg: litter, animals (rhinocerous) • Odd/strange behaviour • Often, interdependent pairs – eg Rosencrantz & Guilderstein; Vladimir & Estragon with one of the pair more dominant

Characters • • • Unbelievable characters Psychological complexity Irrational beings Cannot be understood Alienated, isolated, satirical, incoherent, lack of communication • Often exemplify an existential point of view • Groups of symbols rather than c. characters

Plots • No logical, traditional plots; unconventional • Actions may begin and then disappear • ridiculous and unbelievable • Non-realistic; symbolic satire • Nothing happens; storyless action • Rejection of theatrical conventions • Abrupt changes of direction and tone

Settings – Not distinct, could be anywhere – Not specific: eg “a road” instead of “on the side of the road to Mandalay at dusk. ”

Language • Natural language but dialogue is circular (moves in circles and doesn’t necessarily advance). • Can be confusing and may not make sense • Use of pause (usually 5 secs) and silence (usually 10 secs) • Repetition, rhyme

Playwrights – Samuel Beckett – Irish dramatist – “Waiting for Godot” was once described as the “play where nothing ever happens. Twice. ” – “Who am I? ” is a common theme in Samuel Beckett’s plays.

Playwright - Jean Genet – French dramatist – Sympathy with the outcasts in Society. – Plays (English names) • The Maids; Deathwatch; The Balcony

Playwright - Eugene Ionesco • Eugene Ionesco’s plays convey the meaningless of modern man’s existence in a universe ruled by chance. Plays – The Bald Soprano, Rhinocerous

Playwright – Harold Pinter • English playwright 19302008 • "There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not Plays include The necessarily either true or Room, The Birthday false; it can be both true Party, The and false. " Homecoming, and Betrayal

Playwright – Tom Stoppard • Czech-born child refugee British playwright born 1937 • Themes of human rights, censorship and political freedom Plays – Arcadia, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, The Real Thing, Jumpers, and he co-wrote the screenplay for Shakespeare in Love.

Playwright – Edward Albee • American, 1928 -2016 • “Human beings have lost the ability to cope with their problems and anxieties because they refuse to accept responsibility for their lives Plays - The Zoo Story, Sandbox, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , and Seascape.