Presented by : Hilary G., Kalau F., Isaac N., and Ben Y. Absurdist Theatre Presented by : Hilary G., Kalau F., Isaac N., and Ben Y.

What is it? Oxford Dictionary definition: Drama using the abandonment of conventional dramatic form to portray the futility of human struggle in a senseless world.

Origins Absurdist Theatre emerged as a reaction to World War II. It took the core of existential philosophy and combined it with dramatic elements to create a new style of theatre. It presented a world that could not be logically explained,that life was, absurd. Needless to say, this genre of theatre took quite some time to catch on because it used techniques that seemed to be illogical to the theatre world. The plots often made opposite turns from the more “traditional episodic structure”; it moved in a circle the ending was the same way it began. The scenery was often couldn’t be recognized and the dialogue never seemed to make any sense.. The “Theatre of the Absurd” is a term that Martin Esslin used to describe this type of theatre., The term refers to a particular type of play which first became popular during the 1950s and 1960s and which presented on stage the philosophy articulated by French philosopher Albert Camus in his 1942 essay,The Myth of Sisyphus, in which he defines the human condition as basically meaningless. 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

Characteristics Theatre of the absurd is at first characterized by a deliberate refusal of realism. Although there are moments which carry the traces of the realistic works, realism is never the basic principle. The main principle is to search, ,on the contrary, in a fundamental unreality which manifests itself as muchin the Tramework as in the intrigue or the characters who osciHate between lack of feeling and nullity and the improbability of the most fantastic sort. The main interest of the playwright is neither to reveal a society,and its problems, nar a psychological study, and their refinement is none of their concem either. To create a spectacle they usually tend to constitute an effect of totality which reveals its obsessional interior world through 'gests, songs, light and colors. Thus, it has some affinities with the mime, the downeries (down-plays), improvisation, the cabaret, and it is like the ritualistic performances of the old Greek plays, such as those of Aristophanes. Besides the comedy and parody of Aristophanes, Commedia dell'arte and vaudeville lies in its background.

Famous Playwrights SAMUEL BECKETT: Beckett's plays seem to focus on the themes of the uselessness of human action, and the failure of the human race to communicate. His postwar era fame only came about in the 1950's when he published three novels and his famous play, Waiting for Godot. Waiting for Godot is one of the most famous absurdist plays today . The characters of the play, are absurd caricatures who of course have problems communicating with one another, and the language they use is often times ludicrous. And, following the cyclical pattern, the play seems to end in the same state it began in, with nothing really changed. EUGENE IONESCO: Ionesco's main focus is on the futility of communication, so the language of his plays often reflects this by being almost completely nonsensical. His rep in the absurdist community wasn’t exactly determined endeavor; he took the illogical phrases he found in the primer he was using and used these phrases for dialogue in The Bald Soprano. He was known to dislike theatre because of the contradiction presented by the reality of the performers and the fiction of the stage. JEAN GENET: Genet remains best known for plays in which he portrayed the stage as a communal arena for enacting personal fantasies of sex and death . Genet’s Highlights were pinpointed on of humanity struggling to find a purpose and to control its fate. Humankind in this view is left feeling hopeless, bewildered, and anxious.

Famous plays ENDGAME: In it’s opening lines the word "finished" is repeated, and the rest of the play hammers away at the idea that beginnings and endings are intertwined, that existence is cyclical. The play systematically repeats minute movements, from how many knocks Hamm makes on a wall and how many Nagg makes on Nell's ashbin to how many steps Clov takes. The repetitions prohibit the discernment of meaning, since there is never a final product to scrutinize. RHINOCEROS: It exposes the limitations of logic, and absurdity reigns as the dominating force in the universe. Self-proclaimed rational characters, such as the Logician, Botard, and Jean, either flounder in their proofs (the Logician, especially) or ridiculously rationalize their incorrect presumptions. Recognizing the world as absurd, Ionesco suggests, is the first step in cobbling together a meaningful life.

IMPACT As World War II ended, people began reacting to the horror of the war. As always, drama reflected society, and the Theatre of the Absurd was born. It began in France, post WWII-1950s. Believed that truth is unknowable and that man cannot communicate. Man is lost and all of his actions are senseless, absurd, useless. Visuals more important than words in these plays. This movement first attracted world-wide attention with SAMUEL BECKETT's (1906-1989) Waiting for Godot (1953). His works are concerned with the nature of human existence. [He was an American, originally James Joyce's sec'y (JJ-Irish), then settled in France-liked French, more concise language.] Endgame (1957). The Absurdist movement had a major effect on drama, helping to break the stranglehold that realism had had on the theatre.

Sources http://blisty.cz/video/Slavonic/Absurd.htm https://www2.southeastern.edu/Academics/Faculty/cfrederic/TheatreHistoryRestoreThruPres.htm http://www.theatredatabase.com/20th_century/theatre_of_the_absurd.html