The theatre of the absurd alfred Jarry: ubu roi (1896)

THE THEATRE OF THE ABSURD

• Alfred Jarry: UBU ROI (1896)

• Avant-garde: 1920s &1930s

• 'Myth of Sisyphus'

• Martin Esslin: works 1950s & 1960s

• Conventions

The Theatre of the Absurd

• was:

• A reaction to the disappearance of the religious dimension form our life

• An attempt to restore the importance of myth and ritual.

An attempt to make man aware of the ultimate realities of his condition, by instilling in him again the lost sense of cosmic wonder and anguish.

• An attempt to make man aware of the ultimate realities of his condition, by instilling in him again the lost sense of cosmic wonder and anguish.

Aspects of the Theatre of the Absurd

• Aspects of the Theatre of the Absurd

• Distrust of language as a means of communication

• Absurd drama uses conventionalized speech, clichés, slogans and technical jargon

• http://www2.arts.gla.ac.uk/Slavonic/Absurd.htm

Antonin Artaud

• The Theater and Its Double (1938)

• Rejects realism

• Cherishes a vision of a stage of magical beauty and mythical power.

Calls for a return to myth and magic and to the exposure of the deepest conflicts within the human mind

• Calls for a return to myth and magic and to the exposure of the deepest conflicts within the human mind

• Demanded a theatre that would produce collective archetypes, thus creating a new mythology.

Theatre should pursue the aspects of the internal world. Man should be considered metaphorically in a wordless language of shapes, light, movement and gesture.

• Theatre should pursue the aspects of the internal world. Man should be considered metaphorically in a wordless language of shapes, light, movement and gesture.

• Theatre should express what language is incapable of putting into words.