Theatre of the Absurd: 20th Century’s Way of Dealing With Existential Dread
In the 1950s and 1960s in a godless post war world, people lost all faith in religion and mankind came to realise the futility of life. There was anguish over all the destruction and lives that were lost. The mental state of the people did not allow for them to enjoy traditional and conventional art like they did before. Artists of all kinds were affected Painters, musicians, and literary writers. In literature we saw a new sort of plotless, seemingly nonsensical plays that shocked their audiences right into bleak reality, as opposed to the fantastical dramas that were previously more common.
Though a 20th century style of writing, it was influenced by different forms and writers dating all the way back to the middle ages. 15th and 16th Centuries saw morality plays that were allegorical and dealt with existential problems. This in turn brought about Baroque allegorical drama where Elizabethan Dramatists such as John Webster, depicted the world in mythological archetypes. Works like Alfred Jerry’s Ubu Roi 1896 were a big influence on the ‘Theatre of the Absurd’. Audiences who were used to naturalist theatre were horrified by the play’s shocking and crude nature.
Artistic movements like surrealism and Dadaism followed closely next. The biggest inspiration for the Theatre of the Absurd would surely have to be the Avant Garde movement, this art style that became largely popular after the first world war. Literature, art, fashion, music all strayed from the conventional. People were shocked and stunned and, in some cases, also rioted like in the case of Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring 1913 which was not the most traditional ballet. With ballet we hope to see graceful dancers, light on their feet with beautiful soft music; not Stravinsky’s dancers with their jerking unearthly movements and awkward poses and definitely not paired with anxiety inducing discordant music. It is no surprise that there were riots; as Albert Camus said
“Seeing what is true is not seeing what is desirable.”
What Absurdist drama essentially was, was a revolt against normality. Before being named by Martin Esslin, this group of writers referred to themselves as Anti-Theatre or New Theatre and preferred this over Theatre of the Absurd. The defining playwrights of this movement would be Eugene Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet and Harold Pinter.
French Philosopher Jean Paul Satre is credited with coming up with the important works that highlight existentialism/ existentialist philosophy that emphasises individual existence, freedom and choice. Humans define their own meaning in life and they try to make rational decisions despite existing in an irrational universe. It questions human existence, if there is at all any explanation or purpose to it. In fact, they urge us to embrace existence because there is no God or higher purpose and life truly is what we make of it.
Albert Camus in 1942 inspired by this very philosophy wrote ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’; the old Greek fable of a man condemned to rolling a boulder up a hill for eternity. As punishment for capturing Death, he is stuck in this hell loop of rolling a boulder up a hill every day only for it to roll back down. This story which Camus finds symbolic of the human condition; futile and meaningless. However, it takes for us to understand this futility to truly be happy.
Franz Kafka merged realism and fantasy in his book ‘The Metamorphosis’, It deals with the absurdity of life suggesting that the story occurs in a random, chaotic universe. The protagonist wakes up to find out that he is now a giant roach, which is far from a natural, daily occurrence.
“The absurdist is concerned with the search for meaning in the universe hence the disintegration of plot, character and language.”
Walter Wykes, American playwright.
He explains the absurdist paradox- “though he believes the universe to be meaningless, he cannot abandon the search for meaning or he will die.”
Martin Esslin echoes the same thought in his essay and was the first to use the term-Theatre of the Absurd. It aims to shock its complacent audience and help face their harsh reality. Our ignorance can only satisfy us temporarily. “man is alone in a meaningless world. The shedding of easy solutions, comforting illusions may be painful but it leaves behind a sense of freedom and relief”
Samuel Beckett of course understood this perfectly and is rightly titled as Father of the Theatre of the Absurd. This play challenged and defeated a century of literal naturalism where a room was only considered a room if it was presented in full detail. Waiting for Godot gave to us an empty stage, a tree and two figures that waited and remained waiting. It is described as a play where ‘Nothing happens twice’. Time in the play moves in cycles, the same events reoccurring over and over again, mirroring our own lives. The theme of meaninglessness of life is woven together with that of recurrent and pointless looping of time, much like Camus’ Sisyphus.
One of the most important aspects of absurdist drama was its distrust of language as a means of communication. It ridicules conventional and stereotypical speech patterns; the conversations instead are meaningless and illogical. Like the play ending with the characters agreeing to leave but they end up staying in the same place; reminiscent of the epigram
‘plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose’
which translates to- ‘the more it changes, the more it remains the same.’ A sense of angst, sadness and wistfulness is reflected in these plays but are counterbalanced by the use of dark humour.
The characters too differ from those in traditional dramas- they are often unsure of who they are and are out of sync with their surroundings. They are flat characters that lack motivation and development much like the plot. In Waiting for Godot, we see Pozzo who in the first act is going to sell his slave Lucky, but in the next Pozzo is blind and lucky is dumb. The two do not even recognise Vladimir and Estragon, who they have previously met. The characters are aware of the insignificance of life, existential dread is the common theme running through the play. Our lives are but fleeting, “they give birth astride a grave”.
Eugene Ionesco’s play ‘The Chairs’ is also one of the more recognised plays of this genre. The protagonists of this play are simply called ‘man’ and ‘woman’ who wait for an orator in a room full of invisible guests. The orator when finally delivers the much-anticipated message it comes out garbled and nonsensical.
Plots are non linear and without conflict. Actions are repetitive that give the audience a sense of déjà vu and to show us the illusion of time. The plays are cyclic and often end the same place they begin. These plays helped people cope with what was the 20th century modern world. We may not be in a state of war anymore but the people of our times are equally distressed. Now more than ever we can step into the shoes of the philosophers, writers and artists who acknowledged the bleak nothingness of life and still strove to find happiness in that very aspect.
“The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
— Albert Camus
