the Theatre of the Absurd

1. the Theatre of the Absurd

2. Term: “THEATRE OF THE ABSURD” • The Theatre of the Absurd is a term coined by Martin Esslin in 1962. • The term refers to a type of play which presented the philosophy of Albert Camus (articulated in his 1942 essay, The Myth of Sisyphus) in which he defines the human condition as meaningless.

3. Albert Camus: wrote the essay Myth of Sisyphus

4. Theatre of the Absurd Introduction cont’d • Camus argued that humanity had to resign itself to recognizing that a fully satisfying rational explanation of the universe was beyond its reach; in that sense, the world must ultimately be seen as absurd.

5. History of the Absurd: Roots: Greece • the Theatre of the Absurd is often traced back to avant-garde experiments of the 1920s, but its roots date back much further. • Absurd elements first made their appearance shortly after the rise of Greek drama, in the wild humor and buffoonery of Old Comedy.

6. Greek Comedy Mask

7. Roots Cont’d: 19th Century • the acknowledged predecessor of what would come to be called the Theatre of the Absurd is Alfred Jarry’s "monstrous puppet-play" (1896) which presents a mythical, grotesque figure, set amidst a world of archetypal/ stereotypical images.

8. the 1920s included the teachings of Freud and his emphasis on the subconscious mind (Id/Superego) which they acknowledged as a great, positive healing force. • Their intention was to do away with art as an imitation of surface reality, instead it should be more real than reality and deal with essences.

9. Id/ ego/Super-ego: Freud

10. Roots Cont’d: WWII • World War II finally brought the Theatre of the Absurd to life! The conflict and the trauma of living under threat of nuclear annihilation put into perspective the essential precariousness of human life. • Suddenly, one did not need to be an abstract thinker in order to be able to reflect upon absurdity.

11. WWII: Nuclear Threat • Made the feeling of the meaninglessness of human life mainstream.

12. Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot • Epitomized theatre of the absurd and was a huge, worldwide success.

13. Absurd vs. Traditional • traditional theatre attempts to create a photographic representation of life. • the Theatre of the Absurd relates to the entire world including the world of dreams. • The focal point of these dreams is often man's bewilderment, stemming from the fact that he has no answers to the basic existential questions: why we are alive, why we have to die, why there is injustice and suffering?

14. Theatre vs. The Theatre of the Absurd

15. Language: “words, words, words.” • Language has become nothing but a vehicle for meaningless exchanges. Words fail to express the essence of human experience. The Theatre of the Absurd shows language is a very unreliable and tool. It uses conventional speech, cliches, slogans and technical jargon, to distort and parody.

17. Logic • Rational thought, like language, only deals with the superficial aspects of things. Nonsense, on the other hand, opens up a glimpse of the infinite. • Absurd drama subverts logic. It relishes the unexpected and the logically impossible. According to Sigmund Freud, there is a feeling of freedom we can enjoy when we are able to abandon the straitjacket of logic.

18. You know you are An Absurdist when… • You feel that all of your actions are senseless, absurd, and useless. • You seek a connection with the universe and the whole of human experience. • You distrust language. • You Distrust logic.

19. Absurd theatre aims to Create more absurdists by… • shocking man out of an existence that is trite, mechanical, and complacent. • It is felt that there is mystical experience in confronting the limits of human condition.

20. Existentialism • The Theatre of the Absurd is often confused with existentialism. • Difference: Existentialists are concerned with finding self and meaning of life through free will, choice, and personal responsibility. • Similarities: There is no objective form of truth, and there is struggle in life.