THEATRE OF THE ABSURD

Theatre of the Absurd

CONTEXT

• Emerged after The Great Depression and World War II

• Reflection of the attitudes of the time

• A time of disillusionment and of questioning.

• A time of loss

World War Two Statistics•1939 - 1945. It lasted 6 years and one day.

•Countries involved:

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•Casualties:

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Axis BulgariaFinlandGermanyHungaryItalyJapan Romania

Neutral AndorraIrelandLiechtensteinPortugalSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTurkey (until Feb 1945)UruguayVatican City

Warfare

• Warfare: Infantry, aerial fighting (surface to air, air to surface, air to air), tank, artillery, navy, submarine, aerial (dog fighting) - total warfare - blitzkrieg - warfare technology (pinnacle being development of the nuclear bomb.)

World War II created...

a sense of horror

total abandonment by God

uncertainty

anxiety

purposelessness

discomfort

allienation

“...mankind's inexplicable relationship with the universe.”

“What is there? I know first of all that I am. But who am I? All I know of myself is that I suffer. And if I suffer it is because at the origin of myself there

is mutilation, separation. I am separated. What I am separated from - I cannot name it. But I am

separated.” Arthur Adamov, Paris 1938

In a footnote Adamov adds “Formerly it was called God. Today it no longer has a name.” Arthur Adamov, Paris 1938

Theatre of the Absurd - Paris• Theatre of the Absurd was centred in Paris

• Paris was “a magnet attracting artists of all nationalities.. .(it provided)the freedom to experiment ...(artists) had the opportunity to get their work produced”

• Paris had a highly intelligent theatre going public which was receptive, thoughtful and was able to absorb new ideas.

Absurd

“Out of harmony”

“Devoid of purpose”

“Cut off from his religious, metaphysical roots, man is lost...

...All his actions become senseless, absurd, useless”

“Incongruous”“Illogical”

Coined By Martin Esslin

“A world that can be explained by reasoning, however faulty, is a familiar world. But in a universe that is suddenly

deprived of illusions and of light , man feels a stranger. He is an irremediable exile, because he is deprived of memories of a lost homeland as much as he lacks the hope of a promised land to come. This divorce between man and his life, the actor and his setting, truly constitutes the feeling of Absurdity”

ALBERT CAMUS

Theatrical Traditions

Audience is left unsatisfied, feeling frustrated by the lack of resolution . They are often bewildered by what they have just seen.