Esslin, Martin Julius

▪ 2003

Julius Pereszlenyi 

      Hungarian-born British broadcaster, critic, and scholar (b. June 8, 1918, Budapest, Austria-Hungary—d. Feb. 24, 2002, London, Eng.), coined the term theatre of the absurd (in his 1962 book of that title) to describe post-World War II drama by playwrights he felt reflected existential philosophy and who used poetic metaphor “to convey their sense of bewilderment, anxiety, and wonder in the face of an inexplicable universe.” These “absurdist” playwrights, who never constituted a formal movement, included Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, Eugène Ionesco, and, later, Harold Pinter and Edward Albee. After the Nazi takeover of Austria, Esslin settled in England, where he became a scriptwriter and producer for the BBC. He served as the head of BBC Radio Drama (1963–77) and was later professor of drama (1977–88) at Stanford University.

* * *