1. Theatre of The Absurd

2. Context Originates post WWII, beginning in Europe (mid 1940s)
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.

3. 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.

4. 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

5. CommonThemes 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

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

10. 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

11. 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.

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

13. 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

14. Playwright – Harold Pinter
English playwright
"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 necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false."
Plays include The Room, The Birthday Party, The Homecoming, and Betrayal

15. 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.

16. Playwright – Edward Albee
American,
“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.