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The leading figure of absurdist theater and one of the great innovators of the modern stage, Eugene Ionesco did not write his first play, The Bald Soprano, until 1950. He went on to become an internationally renowned master of modern drama, famous for the comic proportions and bizarre effects that allow his work to be simultaneously hilarious, tragic, and profound.
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SCENE: A middle class English interior, with English armchairs. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
SCENE: A middle class English interior, with English armchairs. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The paradox of tragedy,
By JEFF SPRUILL (Searcy, AR United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Four Plays: The Bald Soprano; the Lesson; Jack, or the Submission; the Chairs (Paperback)
I am directing the Bald Soprano soon. One of my major battles has been this: How do I translate Ionesco's ideas to my audience. Ionesco did not write his seemingly meaningless text to be a funny piece of sensless fluff. Ionesco saw in his work a profound meaning with deep implications. He shows us six people, whose interactions with each other are completely absurd and meaningless. The characters speak to each other in endless non-sequinters and cliches. They cannot communicate with one another. Their inablity to communicate unltimatally leads to conflict and the end, not only of the play, but of the lives of these characters (made alive only as long as the play lasts) the audience laughs at this. They look at these characters on the stage and think, "What aweful people they are." What they don't realize is that they are laughing at themselves. It is infact they who scurry about the earth speaking to one another with meaningless words, and in cliches. They are trapped in a world of political correctness, and useless sayings. They don't communicate, but say only what they are expected to say. They fight about things that have no eternal significance, and they fight until it is impossible for either side to win. The Bald Soprano shows us ourselves. The tragedy of the Bald Soprano is that we laugh at it, because we except that our relationships and indeed our existance is laughable. The tragedy is that we don't even know that we are laughing at ourselves, because we are blind to our own faults. WE don't allow ourselves to see that we are talking without speaking, and fighting without winning. The difficulty to the director is: How do we make the audience see Ionesco's point. If we made it completely obvious, than it would lose it's comic value, for who could laugh if they knew how desperate their circumstance was. And if they don't laugh, than the play loses it's tragedy. It would be simple if Ionesco had given us some text at the end to wrap it up, and tell the audience the meaning. But Ionesco didn't see the need to. To him, it was not possible for humanity to change. Even if he had made the audience understand that the characters were showing them themselves, they would not have been willing to change. To IOnesco, the world was headed on a downward spiral, so we night as well laugh about it, even if it is at our own expense.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A note to high-school theatre directors,
By
This review is from: Four Plays: The Bald Soprano; the Lesson; Jack, or the Submission; the Chairs (Paperback)
I had the good fortune/misfortune to be a high school theatre teacher in a small town in North Carolina for two years. The most rewarding experience I had was letting a junior/senior cast loose with a script of The Bald Soprano. They had a ball and so did I. It was entirely liberating. They took it where they wanted to, which is Ionesco's point I think. Ionesco embodies this freedom. His scripts are not roadmaps, pointing to what an actor should think or feel. It is not as if he is providing a "fill in the blanks" master plan. The director and the actors are free to provide their own interpretation. Freedom of expression is boundless. I was really pleasantly surprised by the direction my students took on their own accord. I essentially just sat back and watched the play unfold.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Passionate applause for an extremely important book.,
By ncthomas@bulldog.unca.com (Hendersonville, North Carolina) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Four Plays: The Bald Soprano; the Lesson; Jack, or the Submission; the Chairs (Paperback)
"The Bald Soprano" was the first play I ever performed in. Thus began my fascination with, and utmost respect for Ionesco's work. This book became my bible for nearly two years, and as a playwright, I am sure that in the future my themes will be traced back to the plays in this volume. From crossing satire and disgust in "The Bald Soprano" to humor and sympathy in "The Chairs," Ionesco undoubtedly altered theater in the latter part of this century. This book is not only essential to a theater-lover's collection, but it also belongs in the libraries of all serious students of literature
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