Eugne Ionesco - La Cantatrice Chauve translated from French as The Bald Soprano or The Bald

Prima Donna

first play written by Romanian-French Ionesco

Nicolas Bataille directed the premiere on 11 May 1950 at the Thtre des Noctambules, Paris. Since
1957 it has been in permanent showing at the Thtre de la Huchette
It holds the world record for the play that has been staged continuously in the same theatre for
the longest time

Plot: Based on two couples: Mr & Mrs Smith, Mr & Mrs Martin spirals into complete nonsensical
discussion / sort of duality, couples and contradictions

Mr&Mrs Smith discuss someone called Bobby Watson, then realise hes been dead for years
-They discuss who his wife will remarry, but struggle to work out who is who as all Bobby
Watsons relatives work doing the exact same job and are called Bobby Watson they
struggled to identify to differentiate

Mr&Mrs Martin arrive to the Smiths house together, then have a page long back-and-fourth in which
they realise theyre husband and wife

When the fire chief arrives, they discuss whether the doorbell ringing means someone actually rang
the doorbell or not, and whether it means someone is standing outside.

Fire Chief agrees to tell stories, but then states:

FIRE CHIEF: I'm going to try to begin anyhow. But promise me that you won't listen.
MRS. MARTIN: But if we don't listen to you we won't hear you.
FIRE CHIEF: I didn't think of that!

Meta self referential

FIRE CHIEF: Well, then! [He coughs again in a voice shaken by emotion:] "The Dog and the Cow,"
an experimental fable. Once upon a time another cow asked another dog: "Why have you not
swallowed your trunk?" "Pardon me," replied the dog, "it is because I thought that I was an elephant."
MRS. MARTIN: What is the moral?
FIRE CHIEF: That's for you to find out.

Nonsensical fables fables are short tales which convey a moral message breakdown in literary
structure, similarly to the play in itself

Descends into lunacy conversation that does not make any sense at all

Breakdown in communication

Parody of societal communication?