THEATRE OF THE ABSURD

Never heard the term “Theatre of the Absurd”? The theater critic Martin Esslin wrote that there’s a “dismissal of realism” and “logical construction and argument gives way to irrational and illogical speech in absurdist plays.”

However, these stories are not just non-sense; in fact, Esslin said that “they have something to say and can be understood,” but the viewer is often left to draw their own conclusions.

Although there was no official Absurdist movement, play-wrights typically associated with the style include Samuel Beckett (Waiting for Godot, 1953) and Eugène Ionesco (Rhinoceros, 1959).