The Theatre of Absurd

Theatre of absurd (absurd theatre) was a theatrical movement that emerged from around 1940s-1960s after WW2. After the horrifying period of war many people were left feeling empty and meaningless. This feeling of meaninglessness is covered in existentialism/ nihilism. 

 It explores the human condition and how humans have an inherent need to find the 'meaning of life'. Absurd plays like 'Waiting for Godot' - Samuel Beckett and 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead' - Tom Stoppard, present the idea that life is meaningless and humans have no control of their fate. The majority of the time the play itself has no meaning which only further points out the meaningless of life. 

Characteristics of Absurd Theatre:

• Nonsensical/ Circular Plot Line - Absurdist plays are meant to have no meaning and therefore their plot lines don't have meaning either. 
• Irrational events - Lots of the occurrences on stage are random and unpredictable
• Repetition - Repeated events or lines 
• Questioning of meaning - Absurdist works often question the meaning of life, death, and God.
• Exploration of feelings - Absurdist works often explore subjective feelings about existence.
• Isolation - Absurdist works often explore the isolation of the individual. 

An absurd play is very recognisable as they normally consist of two characters, one appears happier then the other as they do not question life whereas the less happy one is questioning of their meaning. The play is usually made up of meaningless conversation dialogue with sections of physical sequences which too have no meaning. A brilliant example of this is 'Ballyturk' by Enda Walsh. 

Existentialism: 

According to existentialism existence is always particular and individual not one life is the same as another. Existence is primarily the problem of existence it is, therefore, also the investigation of the meaning of Being. That investigation is continually faced with diverse possibilities, from among which the existent (the human individual) must make a selection, to which he must then commit himself. Because those possibilities are constituted by the individual's relationships with things and with other humans, existence is always a being-in-the-world—in a concrete and historically determinate situation that limits or conditions choice. Humans are therefore called, in Martin Heidegger's phrase, Dasein ("there being") because they are defined by the fact that they exist, or are in the world and inhabit it.

More can be found on existentialism on the website referenced at the end of the page...

Absurdist Playwrights:

Harold Pinter was a British playwright, screenwriter, director, actor and Nobel Prize winner. Pinter and Beckett shared a view of we are all waiting for the dawn of a new, better world. Absurdists are also waiting for the appearance of an ideal order, this shares the psychology and existentialist idealism of the two tramps in 'Waiting for Godot' who are waiting for Godot to come. The question of will/ when Godot come is not dissimilar to the question when will a ideal society emerge.  

Some characteristics of Pinter's Absurdism are: his characters were often inconsequential and only spoke for the sake of speaking. A Pinter Pause is a radical device that Pinter frequently incorporated into his plays. He felt that theatre neither accurately depicted the unpredictability of human discourse, nor the complexities found in carefully constructing an utterance. Often when we search for the right words, we pause. And sometimes, we have no comment at all, remaining completely silent. This is exactly what Pinter pursued in his plays – a rejection of perfection in favour of realism. There are three types of silences, an ellipsis, a pause, and silence.

Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter both shared a similar idea that the modern world has become alienated and empty. Living in such a place makes it hard to find meaning in your life. Beckett's main themes include human suffering, despair, survival, meaninglessness, alienation, and stagnancy.

Common Characteristics of Beckett's plays:

• Rejection of traditional form: Beckett's plays often lack conventional plots, time, and place references.
• Dialogue and monologues: Beckett's characters often engage in long-winded speeches that go nowhere.
• Symbolic imagery: Beckett uses symbolic imagery drawn from everyday objects (lesser extent)
• Silence and repetition: Beckett often centres his plays on silences and repetitions. 
• Stream-of-consciousness: Beckett's characters often speak in stream-of-consciousness speeches. This type of writing captured the characters thoughts and feelings and laying them out sometimes in a nonsensical way. 

Albert Camus:

His beliefs can mostly be summarised as the absurd - life being void of meaning, or man's inability to know that meaning if it were to exist - was something that man should embrace. He believed there is a futility of searching for meaning in a universe that is incomprehensible (so far). Camus believed that revolt against the meaninglessness of life is the first decisive act that gives life value and meaning. Camus crystallizes the attitude of revolt in the character of Sisyphus, a figure from Greek myth:

"The gods had condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly rolling a rock to the top of a mountain, whence the stone would fall back of its own weight. They had thought with some reason that there is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labour"

Sisyphus was condemned by the Gods to roll the boulder up a mountain and once at the top it would roll back down. Initially you might think that this is torture and the worst punishment someone can endure; endless, meaningless, fruitless labour. This is the human condition, Camus says. A backbreaking labour without purpose, payoff, or end. Then you die. However, Camus proposes that Sisyphus does not weep and lament his state and condition. Rather he is 'superior' to it. Sisyphus affirms that all is well. He focuses on the boulder rolling it back up. Camus finished saying: "...one must imagine that Sisyphus is happy."

Camus calls Sisyphus the absurd hero, but what does this mean? An absurd hero is one who recognises the absurdity of life and existence but still chooses to fight against it. They create their own meaning and purpose fighting against absurdity and nihilism. 

"It may be thought that suicide follows revolt – but wrongly. … [R]evolt gives value to life. … To a man devoid of blinders, there is no finer sight than that of the intelligence at grips with a reality that transcends it" (Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus).

Camus explores the absurdity of suicide. He says that suicide is a rejection of freedom and that people should instead embrace life with passion. As said in the quote above being able to live and come to terms that we lack the intelligence as a species to understand our reality is the ideal situation you could wish to be in. 

Abbagnano, N. (2019). Existentialism | Definition, Nature, History, & Issues. In: Encyclopedia Britannica. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/existentialism.