Theatre of the Absurd

Theatre of the Absurd
Body of dramatic works of the 1950s and '60s that expressed the existentialist philosophy of meaninglessness and the absurdity of life.

Playwrights such as Arthur Adamov, Edward Albee, Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, Eugène Ionesco, and Harold Pinter created Absurdist plays without traditional plots and with characters who engaged in circular, purposeless conversations. Beckett's Waiting for Godot (1953), in which two tramps wait for a mysterious man who never arrives, is a classic of the genre.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Theatre of the Absurd — The Theatre of the Absurd (French: Théâtre de l Absurde ) is a designation for particular plays written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, as well as to the style of theatre which has evolved from… …   Wikipedia

  • theatre of the absurd — noun A branch of drama dealing with fantastic deliberately unreal situations, in reaction against the tragedy and irrationality of life • • • Main Entry: ↑theatre …   Useful english dictionary

  • theatre of the absurd — noun a modern dramatic genre which expresses the belief that the human condition is essentially absurd …  

  • Theatre of the Absurd — noun drama which abandons conventional dramatic form to portray the futility of human struggle in a senseless world …   English new terms dictionary

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  • Theatre on the Balustrade — (2006) The Theatre on the Balustrade (Divadlo Na zábradlí) is situated in Prague, Czech republic. The theatre was founded in 1958. Its founders Helena Philipová, Ivan Vyskočil, Jiří Suchý and Vladimír Vodička named their professional theatre… …   Wikipedia

  • The Birthday Party (play) — The Birthday Party (1958) is the first full length play by Harold Pinter and one of Pinter s best known and most frequently performed plays. After its hostile London reception almost ended Pinter s playwriting career, it went on to be considered… …   Wikipedia

  • The Bald Soprano — or The Bald Prima Donna (original French title La Cantatrice Chauve ) is the first play written by Eugène Ionesco. Nicolas Bataille directed the premiere on May 11 1950 at the Théâtre des Noctambules, Paris. Since 1957 it has been in permanent… …   Wikipedia

  • Absurd — Absurd, the also the Theatre of the Absurd n [singular] a style of play for the theatre that was developed in the 1950s by writers such as Beckett and Ionesco, whose work expresses the belief that human existence has no meaning or purpose. These… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Absurd — Absurd, the also the Theatre of the Absurd n [singular] a style of play for the theatre that was developed in the 1950s by writers such as Beckett and Ionesco, whose work expresses the belief that human existence has no meaning or purpose. These… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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