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According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Theatre of the absurd is a theatrical movement, that works off of Albert Camus‘1942 philosophical essay „The Myth of Sisyphus“. Protagonists of these works struggle with the absurdity of human existence and lack of purpose. Prominent playwrights of the theatre of the absurd are Samuel Beckett, Eugène Ionesco, Jean Genet, Arthur Adamov, and Harold Pinter. (Theatre of the Absurd)
The myth of Sisyphus
In his essay, Camus works with the philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Friedrich Nietzsche. The main focus of the essay is the notion of the absurd. The absurd is, in the philosophical sense, the conflict between knowing that there is no meaning in the purposeless, irrational universe, and the human tendency to search for it anyway.
“At this point of his effort man stands face to face with the irrational. He feels within him his longing for happiness and for reason. The absurd is born of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world” (Camus 20)
Camus then proposes several ways live an absurd life. Those being suicide (which he outright refuses), seduction (pursuing momentary pleasures), acting and art (focusing your passions into creating), conquering (subduing others), rebelling, or finding solace in religion. According to Camus, the only way to gain a real identity is joyful acceptance of the absurd.
Camus illustrates this on the myth of Sisyphus, who is forced for all eternity to push a boulder uphill. Camus proclaims him a true absurd hero, concluding the essay with the words “One must imagine Sisyphus happy”. (Camus 78)
“All Sisyphus’ silent joy is contained therein. His fate belongs to him. His rock is his thing. Likewise, the absurd man, when he contemplates his torment, silences all the idols.” (Camus 78)
Features of Theatre of the Absurd
the plays usually have these characteristics:
Plays not adhering to traditional structures
Nonsensical cyclical dialogue
Only a vague plot, settings and character
No resolve at the end of the play
No moral lesson
Examples:
A series of clips from "Waiting for Godot"
One of the best known absurdist plays is “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett, a tragicomedy in 2 acts, famously described as “A play in which nothing happens, twice” . Heavily based on “The Myth of Sisyphus”, the characters of the play go through all the ways to live an absurd life as written by Camus (example: Pozzo subdues Lucky, Estragon suggests that he and Vladimir hand themselves). At the end of both acts the Boy appears, and tells the characters that Godot “won’t come this evening but surely tomorrow”. (Beckett 45)
“The Bald Soprano” by Eugène Ionesco starts as a series of meaningless conversations, and slowly deteriorating into incoherent babbling, ending simply on an abrupt silence.
“Audience” by Václav Havel, depicts 2 characters, Vaněk a Sládek sitting with a beer. It is set in 1970s in Czechoslovakia during the communist regime. During the course of the play, Sládek attempts to convince Vaněk, who is watched by the StB, to turn in information about himself, while getting progressively more and more drunk.
Other examples of the Theatre of the absurd include Harold Pinter’s “The Birthday party”, Jean Genet’s “The Maids”, or Beckett’s “Catastrophe” (Dedicated to Václav Havel).
Works cited:
Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot. Faber & Faber, 1998.
Camus, Albert. The Myth of Sisyphus: And Other Essays. A.A. Knopf, 1975.
Havel, Václav, et al. Audience ; Protest ; Vernisáž. Artur, 2018.
“Eugène Ionesco.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., www.britannica.com/biography/Eugene-Ionesco. Accessed 14 Oct. 2023.
“The Myth of Sisyphus | Albert Camus.” YouTube, YouTube, 11 Dec. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKk4WEs3SyQ&ab_channel=Eternalised.
“Theatre of the Absurd.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., www.britannica.com/art/Theatre-of-the-Absurd. Accessed 14 Oct. 2023.
By Veronika Kalinová (537463)
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