theatre

TheTheatreoftheAbsurd(French:Théâtredel'Absurde)isadesignation

forparticularplaysofabsurdistfiction,writtenbyanumberof

primarilyEuropeanplaywrightsinthelate1940s,1950s,and1960s,as

workexpresdthebeliefthat,inagodlessuniver,humanexistence

hasnomeaningorpurpoandthereforeallcommunicationbreaksdown.

Logicalconstructionandargumentgiveswaytoirrationalandillogical

speechandtoitsultimateconclusion,silence[1].CriticMartinEsslin

coinedtheterm"TheatreoftheAbsurd",relatingtheplaysbadon

abroadthemeofabsurdity,roughlysimilartothewayAlbertCamusus

urdintheplaystakestheformofman’sreactionto

aworldapparentlywithoutmeaningormanasapuppetcontrolledormenaced

thetermisappliedtoawiderange

ofplays,somecharacteristicscoincideinmanyoftheplays:broadcomedy,

oftensimilartoVaudeville,mixedwithhorrificortragicimages;

characterscaughtinhopelesssituationsforcedtodorepetitiveor

meaninglessactions;dialoguefullofclichés,wordplay,andnonn;

plotsthatarecyclicalorabsurdlyexpansive;eitheraparodyor

dismissalofrealismandtheconceptofthe"well-madeplay".Playwrights

commonlyassociatedwiththeTheatreoftheAbsurdincludeSamuelBeckett,

EugèneIonesco,JeanGenet,HaroldPinter,TomStoppard,Friedrich

Dürrenmatt,FernandoArrabal,andEdwardAlbee.

[edit]Theatricalfeatures

Playswithinthisgroupareabsurdinthattheyfocusnotonlogicalacts,

realisticoccurrences,ortraditionalcharacterdevelopment;they,

instead,focusonhumanbeingstrappedinanincomprehensibleworld

subjecttoanyoccurrence,nomatterhowillogical.[109][110][111]Thethemeof

incomprehensibilityiscoupledwiththeinadequacyoflanguagetoform

meaningfulhumanconnections.[24]AccordingtoMartinEsslin,Absurdismis

"theinevitabledevaluationofideals,purity,andpurpo"[112]Absurdist

dramaasksitsviewerto"drawhisownconclusions,makehisownerrors".[113]

ThoughTheatreoftheAbsurdmaybeenasnonn,theyhavesomething

tosayandcanbeunderstood".[114]Esslinmakesadistinctionbetweenthe

dictionarydefinitionofabsurd("outofharmony"inthemusicaln)

anddrama'sunderstandingoftheAbsurd:"Absurdisthatwhichisdevoid

ofpurpo....Cutofffromhisreligious,metaphysical,and

transcendentalroots,manislost;allhisactionsbecomenless,

absurd,uless".[115]

[edit]Characters

ThecharactersinAbsurdistdramaarelostandfloatinginan

incomprehensibleuniverandtheyabandonrationaldevicesand

discursivethoughtbecautheapproachesareinadequate.[116]Many

charactersappearasautomatonsstuckinroutinesspeakingonlyincliché

(IonescocalledtheOldManandOldWomaninTheChairs

"uber-marrionettes").[117][118]Charactersarefrequentlystereotypical,

archetypal,orflatcharactertypesasinCommediadell'arte.[119][120][121]

Themorecomplexcharactersareincrisisbecautheworldaroundthem

isincomprehensible.[121]ManyofPinter'splays,forexample,feature

characterstrappedinanenclodspacemenacedbysomeforcethe

charactercan''sfirstplaywasTheRoom–inwhich

themaincharacter,Ro,ismenacedbyRileywhoinvadeshersafespace

thoughtheactualsourceofmenaceremainsamystery[122]–andthistheme

ofcharactersinasafespacemenacedbyanoutsideforceisrepeatedin

manyofhislaterworks(perhapsmostfamouslyinTheBirthdayParty).

InFriedrichDürrenmatt'sTheVisitthemaincharacter,Alfred,ismenaced

byClaireZachanassian;Claire,richestwomanintheworldwithadecaying

bodyandmultiplehusbandsthroughouttheplay,hasguaranteedapayout

foranyoneinthetownwillingtokillAlfred[123].CharactersinAbsurdist

dramamayalsofacethechaosofaworldthatscienceandlogichave

o'srecurringcharacterBerenger,forexample,facesa

killerwithoutmotivationinTheKiller,andBerenger'slogicalarguments

failtoconvincethekillerthatkillingiswrong.[124]InRhinocéros,

BerengerremainstheonlyhumanonEarthwhohasn’tturnedintoa

rhinocerosandmustdecidewhetherornottoconform.[125][126]Charactersmay

findthemlvestrappedinaroutineor,inametafictionalconceit,

trappedinastory;thetitularcharactersinTomStoppard'sRoncrantz

&GuildensternAreDead,forexample,findthemlvesinastory(Hamlet)

inwhichtheoutcomehasalreadybeenwritten.[127][128]

TheplotsofmanyAbsurdistplaysfeaturecharactersininterdependent

pairs,ckett

scholarscallthisthe"pudocouple".[129][130]Thetwocharactersmaybe

roughlyequalorhaveabegrudginginterdependence(likeVladamirand

EstragoninWaitingforGodot[127]orthetwomaincharactersinRoncrantz

&GuildensternAreDead);onecharactermaybeclearlydominantandmay

torturethepassivecharacter(likePozzoandLuckyinWaitingforGodot

orHammandClovinEndgame);therelationshipofthecharactersmayshift

dramaticallythroughouttheplay(asinIonesco'sTheLesson[131]orinmany

ofAlbee'splays,TheZooStory[132][133]forexample).

[edit]Language

Despiteitsreputationfornonnlanguage,muchofthedialoguein

entswhencharactersresortto

nonnlanguageorclichés–whenwordsappeartohavelosttheir

denotativefunction,thuscreatingmisunderstandingamongthecharacters,

makeTheatreoftheAbsurddistinctive[24][134].Languagefrequentlygains

acertainphonetic,rhythmical,almostmusicalquality,openingupawide

rangeofoftencomedicplayfulness.[135]JeanTardieu,forexample,inthe

riesofshortpiecesTheatredeChambrearrangedthelanguageasone

arrangesmusic[136].DistinctivelyAbsurdistlanguagewillrangefrom

meaninglessclichéstoVaudeville-stylewordplaytomeaningless

nonn.[131][137]TheBaldSoprano,forexample,wasinspiredbyalanguage

bookinwhichcharacterswouldexchangeemptyclichésthatnever

ultimatelyamountedtotruecommunicationortrueconnection.[138][139]

Likewi,thecharactersinTheBaldSoprano–likemanyotherAbsurdist

characters–gothroughroutinedialoguefullofclichéswithoutactually

communicatinganythingsubstantiveormakingahumanconnection.[140][141]In

othercas,thedialogueispurpofullyelliptical;thelanguageof

AbsurdistTheaterbecomescondarytothepoetryoftheconcreteand

objectifiedimagesofthestage.[142]ManyofBeckett'splaysdevalue

languageforthesakeofthestrikingtableau.[143]HaroldPinter–famous

forhis"Pinterpau"–prentsmoresubtlyellipticaldialogue;often

theprimarythingscharactersshouldaddressisreplacedbyellipsisor

lowingexchangebetweenAstonandDaviesinTheCaretaker

istypicalofPinter:

lesxactlywhatyou...

'sit...that'swhatI'mgettingatis...Imean,what

sortofjobs...(Pau.)

,there'sthingslikethestairs...andthe...the

bells...

'dbeamatter...wouldn'tit...it'dbeamatter

ofabroom...isn'tit?[144]

MuchofthedialogueinAbsurdistdrama(especiallyinBeckett'sand

Albee'splays,forexample)reflectsthiskindofevasivenessand

inabilitytomakeaconnection.[132]Whenlanguagethatisapparently

nonnsicalappears,e

udforcomiceffect,asinLucky'slongspeechinGodotwhenPozzosays

Luckyisdemonstratingatalentfor"thinking"asothercharacters

comicallyattempttostophim:

heexistenceasutteredforthinthepublicworksof

PuncherandWattmannofapersonalGodquaquaquaquawithwhitebeard

quaquaquaquaoutsidetimewithoutextensionwhofromtheheights

ofdivineapathiadivineathambiadivineaphasialovesusdearly

withsomeexceptionsforreasonsunknownbuttimewilltelland

sufferslikethedivineMirandawiththowhoforreasonsunknown

buttimewilltellareplungedintorment...[145]

Nonnmayalsobeudabusively,asinPinter'sTheBirthdayParty

whenGoldbergandMcCanntortureStanleywithapparently-nonnsical

questionsandnon-quiturs:

youuforpyjamas?

g.

minatethesheetofyourbirth.

outtheAlbigennistheresy?

eredthewicketinMelbourne?

outtheblesdOliverPlunkett?

thechickencrosstheroad?[146]

Asintheaboveexamples,nonninAbsurdisttheatremaybealsoud

todemonstratethelimitsoflanguagewhilequestioningorparodyingthe

determinismofscienceandtheknowabilityoftruth.[147][148][149][citationneeded]In

Ionesco'sTheLesson,aprofessortriestoforceapupiltounderstand

hisnonnsicalphilologylesson:

PROFESSOR....InSpanish:therosofmygrandmotherareasyellow

asmygrandfatherwhoisAsiatic;inLatin:therosofmy

detectthedifference?Translatethisinto...Romanian

...howdoyousay"ros"inRomanian?

"ros",whatel?..."ros"isatranslationin

OrientaloftheFrenchword"ros",inSpanish"ros",doyouget

it?InSardanapali,"ros"...[150]

[edit]Plot

TraditionalplotstructuresarerarelyaconsiderationinTheTheatreof

theAbsurd[151].Plotscanconsistoftheabsurdrepetitionofclichéand

routine,asinGodotorTheBaldSoprano.[152]Oftenthereisamenacing

outsideforcethatremainsamystery;inTheBirthdayParty,forexample,

GoldbergandMcCannconfrontStanley,torturehimwithabsurdquestions,

anddraghimoffattheend,butitisneverrevealedwhy.[153]Inlater

Pinterplays,suchasTheCaretaker[154]andTheHomecoming[155],themenace

isnolongerenteringfromtheoutsidebutexistswithintheconfinedspace.

OtherAbsurdistsuthiskindofplot,asinEdwardAlbee'sADelicate

Balance:HarryandEdnatakerefugeatthehomeoftheirfriendsAgnes

andTobiasbecautheysuddenlybecomefrightened[156].Theyhave

difficultyexplainingwhathasfrightenedthem:

HARRY:Therewasnothing...butwewereveryscared.

EDNA:We...were...terrified.

HARRY:ikebeinglost:veryyoungagain,

withthedark,asno...thing...tobe...

frightenedof,but...

EDNA:WEWEREFRIGHTENED...ANDTHEREWASNOTHING.[157]

Abnce,emptiness,nothingness,andunresolvedmysteriesarecentral

featuresinmanyAbsurdistplots[158]:forexample,inTheChairsanold

couplewelcomesalargenumberofgueststotheirhome,buttheguests

areinvisiblesoallweeimptychairs,areprentationoftheir

abnce.[159]Likewi,theactionofGodotiscenteredaroundtheabnce

ofamannamedGodot,

ofBeckett'slaterplays,mostfeaturesarestrippedawayandwhat'sleft

isaminimalistictableau:awomanwalkingslowlybackandforthin

Footfalls[160],forexample,orinBreathonlyajunkheaponstageandthe

soundsofbreathing.[161][162]

Theplotmayalsorevolvearoundanunexplainedmetamorphosis,a

supernaturalchange,mple,in

Ionesco'sAmédée,orHowtoGetRidofIt,acouplemustdealwithacorp

thatissteadilygrowinglargerandlarger;Ionesconeverfullyreveals

theidentityofthecorp,howthispersondied,orwhyit'scontinually

growing,butthecorpultimately–and,again,withoutexplanation–

floatsaway.[163][164]InJeanTardieu's"TheKeyhole"aloverwatchesawoman

throughakeyholeassheremovesherclothesandthenherflesh[165].

LikePirandello,manyAbsurdistsumeta-theatricaltechniquesto

explorerolefulfillment,fate,

istrueformanyofGenet'splays:forexample,inTheMaids,twomaids

pretendtobetheirmasters;inTheBalconybrothelpatronstakeon

elevatedpositionsinrole-playinggames,butthelinebetweentheatre

rcomplexexampleofthisisRoncrantz

andGuildensternareDead:it'saplayabouttwominorcharactersinHamlet;

thecharacters,inturn,havevariouncounterswiththeplayerswho

performTheMoutrap,theplay-with-in-the-playinHamlet.[127][166]In

Stoppard'sTravesties,JamesJoyceandTristinTzaraslipinandoutof

theplotofTheImportanceofBeingEarnest.[167]

Plotsarefrequentlycyclical[131]:forexample,Endgamebeginswherethe

playended[168]–atthebeginningoftheplay,Clovsays,"Finished,it's

finished,nearlyfinished,itmustbenearlyfinished"[169]–andthemes

ofcycle,routine,andrepetitionareexploredthroughout[170].