Absurd
Related: Existentialism - meaning - nonsense - nihilism - Surrealism
People associated with absurdism: Alfred Jarry - Fernando Arrabal - Alexandro Jodorowsky - Luis Buñuel - Samuel Beckett - Luigi Pirandello - Mouvement Panique
Definition
# Absurdism is a philosophy born of Existentialism# absurdity, with small "a", is a form of Surreal humour
# Theatre of the Absurd is an artform utilizing the philosophy of Absurdism
--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absurd [Jan 2006]
Theatre of the Absurd
Theatre of the Absurd refers to particular plays written by a number of European and American playwrights in the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, as well as to the style of theatre which has evolved from their work. The term was coined by the critic Martin Esslin, who made it the title of a 1962 book on the subject. Esslin saw the work of these playwrights as giving artistic articulation to Albert Camus' philosophical concept of life as inherently absurd.The Theatre of the Absurd is typified by apparently meaningless plots, repetitive dialogue and dramatic non sequiturs, which together often create a dream-like mood.
Among the major playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd are Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, Eugene Ionesco, Tom Stoppard, Arthur Adamov and Harold Pinter.
Some of the films of Luis Buñuel may arguably be called absurdist. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absurdism
The Theatre of the Absurd (1962) - Martin Esslin
The Theatre of the Absurd, or Theater of the Absurd (French: "Le 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 their work. The term was coined by the critic Martin Esslin, who made it the title of a 1962 book on the subject. Esslin saw the work of these playwrights as giving artistic articulation to Albert Camus' philosophy that life is inherently without meaning, as illustrated in his work The Myth of Sisyphus. The 'Theatre of the Absurd' is thought to have its origins in Dadaism, nonsense poetry and avant-garde art of the 1910s – 1920s. Despite its critics, this genre of theatre achieved popularity when World War II highlighted the essential precariousness of human life. The expression "Theater of the Absurd" has been criticized by some writers, and one also finds the expressions "Anti-Theater" and "New Theater". According to Martin Esslin, the four defining playwrights of the movement are Eugène Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, and Arthur Adamov, although each of these writers has entirely unique preoccupations and techniques that go beyond the term "absurd". Other writers often associated with this group include Tom Stoppard, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Fernando Arrabal, Harold Pinter, Edward Albee and Jean Tardieu. Playwrights who served as an inspiration to the movement include Alfred Jarry, Luigi Pirandello, Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz, Guillaume Apollinaire, the surrealists and many more.
The "Absurd" or "New Theater" movement was, in its origin, a distinctly Paris-based (and left bank) avant-garde phenomenon tied to extremely small theaters in the Quartier Latin; the movement only gained international prominence over time.
In practice, The Theatre of the Absurd departs from realistic characters, situations and all of the associated theatrical conventions. Time, place and identity are ambiguous and fluid, and even basic causality frequently breaks down. Meaningless plots, repetitive or nonsensical dialogue and dramatic non-sequiturs are often used to create dream-like, or even nightmare-like moods. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_the_Absurd [Jul 2006]
your Amazon recommendations