Absurdist Theatre Performance Essay by Alexander Billett

Framing Device: Theatre historian Peter Ramsbottom explores Paris,

describing the features of absurdist theatre through the play Rhinoceros,
by Eugene Ionesco.

PR: Hello! And welcome to Peter Ramsbottoms History of Theatre. I am here

today in Paris, a beautiful city landlocked in the centre of France. Known for its
outstanding food, classy setting and thick accents. It really is one of the most
ritzy, high class and reputative cities in the world! But today I will be recreating
the imagery of the theatre of the Absurd. Using scenes from Eugene Ionesco’s
Rhinoceros I will demonstrate how the Theatre of the Absurd challenged theatre
audiences, as theatre does about their views, beliefs and the world around
them… But first a walk down memory lane, to the place it all started, all began,
all became absurd.

PR: It is 1959. Only 14 years ago the world had been ravaged by war, bombs
were falling, cities were being blown to pieces. Paris was occupied by NAZI
SOLDIERS, who took over the streets and the cafes, the theaters and the
brothels. You couldn’t get a baguette from the boulangerie or a beret from the
boutique. It was chaos, it was madness. BUT the war had been won in 1945, and
things didn’t really change, why, WHY?
It was absurd… Or that's how writers of the time saw things… but how could they
be right about it?

Martin Esslin, an expert on theatre said:

ME: In my book about theater of the absurd I explain that the writers of the time
wanted to bring their audiences face to face with the harsh facts of the human
situation as they saw it. “In all its mystery and absurdity”...”But there are no easy
solutions to the mysteries of existence, because ultimately man is alone in a
meaningless world. And that is why the theatre of the absurd does not provoke
tears of despair but the laughter of liberation.

1
PR: Now, imagine a rhinoceros has just run through a Paris street and everyone
accepts it and goes on with their conversations two at a time. Seems absurd
doesn't it? Well if you think that’s absurd, let’s listen to one of the conversations.

Rhinoceros Act. 1. Pp. 17 - 24

Logician: I'm going to explain to you what a syllogism is

Old Gentleman: Ahhh yes a syllogism
Logician: A syllogism consists of a main proposition, a secondary one and a
conclusion
OG: What conclusion
L: An example of a syllogism is… Whoops
OG: Look out, Look out
L: I’m so sorry
OG: No harm done
L: Right here is an example of a syllogism. A cat has four paws. Isidore and
Fricot both have four paws, therefore Isidore and Fricot are cats.
OG: My dog has four paws
L: Then it’s a cat
OG: So then logically speaking my dog must be a cat
L: (pause) Logically yes. But the contrary is also true
OG: Logic is a beautiful thing
L: As Long as it’s not abused (pause) another syllogism. Socrates is dead
therefore Socrates is a cat
OG: And he’s got four paws! That's true, i've got a cat named Socrates
L: There you are you see.

PR: That conversation went on for a very long time, in the middle of another
conversation between two other characters. Each conversation weaving in and
out between each other. It sounds absurd, It is absurd, but it’s also funny
because it reflects the breakdown of the world at the time. Theatre historian
Walter Wykes believed that the absurdist writers were concerned with the search
for meaning in that world. But, that search was also meaningless and they
showed this through the disintegration of plot, character and language in
absurdist drama. Just like this scene! But like this scene it was also funny.

2
PR: Ionesco’s play was about a rhinoceros running through the streets of Paris -
and a man turning into a rhinoceros. It couldn’t happen. But then no one thought
that the world could be turned upside down and inside out by a megalomaniac.
The whole point of Ionesco’s play is that no one seems surprised anymore about
absurd happenings. They just accepted them.
For instance when a rhinoceros runs by, what do they do …?

Rhinoceros Act. 1. Pp. 33 - 34

Daisy: Oh, a rhinoceros.

Berringer: Oh Daisy. Oh, aH! (People exclaiming. Things falling …)
Waitress: Well of all things.
P: You’ll be charged up for those.
OG: Well of all things.
Others: Well of all things.
Housewife: It ran over my cat. It ran over my cat!
All: What a tragedy. Poor little thing.
OG: Poor little thing.
Daisy and Waitress: Poor little thing.
Others: Poor little thing!

PR: They worry about a cat! They exclaim over and over again about the poor
frightened cat - but the rhinoceros they just accept and then talk over each other
repetitively. That’s another feature of absurd theatre. Repetition ….. And pauses
…. Repetition and pauses ….. Repetition and …. You get the idea.

Absurdist theatre is also symbolic. There are many symbols in Rhinoceros

including the Rhinoceros itself. What could it be? I believe the rhinoceros
symbolises the fear of facism, or perhaps the spread of communism in post WW2
Europe. In a contemporary production the rhinoceroses could also represent the
hundreds of refugees pouring into European ports and cities. Listen to the
suggestion in these words from Act 1.

3
Rhinoceros Act. 1. Pg. 67

Daisy: No, there aren't aren’t any fires, the firemen have been called out for
other rhinoceroses
Berenger: For other rhinoceroses?
Dudard and Botard: Other rhinoceroses?
Daisy: Yes, other rhinoceroses. They’ve been reported all over the town. This
morning there were seven, now there are seventeen.
Botard: What did I tell you?
Daisy: As many as thirty-two have been reported. They’re not official yet, but
they’re bound to be confirmed soon.

PR: You see, life was absurd then. Not like today… Just a minute did I hear the
word megalomaniac? And Facism? And War? Those absurdist writers weren’t as
silly as they seemed to be.Here we are in Paris today in 2023, where people are
throwing stones and firebombs in the streets, because their leader has changed
the retirement dates. Where a boy was shot by the police because he didn’t stop
for them. It’s hard to believe isn’t it? Oh! It really seems a bit absurd…

Well catch me next week when we’ll dive into the theatre of Augusto Boal, but…
in… the meantime (see what I did there?)... Break a Leg!