A programme of Music, Visual Arts and Drama education
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Absurd Theatre - Class Notes
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A programme of Music, Visual Arts and Drama education
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12th Grade
In-depth class notes on Absurd Theatre in accordance to the Grade 12 (IEB - SAGS document) syllabus
Covers the following areas: socio-political context, existentialism, existentialists, aims of absurdist playwrights, structure, language, acting & characterisation, movement, stagecraft and mood & ...
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Absurd Theatre
SOCIO-POLITICAL CONTEXT
1950s —> people’s desperate need to make sense of the chaos and brutality of
WW2:
horrors of the Nazi concentration camps
science failing to provide social solutions
destructive power of the atomic bomb
This raised doubt about reasoning and human beings’ rationality
Out of this anxiety and doubt, a new type of theatre emerged which reflected our
existential experience: ‘Theatre of the Absurd’ ~ Martin Esslin
A theatrical response to the times
focusing on the nature of the basic human condition
people felt disillusioned, exhausted and desolate
Absurd: ‘out of harmony’ —> man is presented as out of harmony with his
surroundings
Absurdist plays explore the irrational, meaningless and incongruous;
inconsistent with reason, logic or common sense; invites ridicule
Absurd Theatre 1
, gives the audience a heightened experience of absurdity
by fully understanding the potential meaningless of life, it becomes possible to
then work towards creating a more meaningful existence
‘WHERE IS GOD?’—> religion was replaced by: faith in progress, Nationalism,
Totalitarianism
EXISTENTIALISM
—> the philosophy behind Absurd theatre
Humans are alone and isolated in an indifferent world
Human existence is unexplainable
Freedom of choice, responsibility for consequences: many existentialists
believed we have an existential obligation to self-create meaning in a
meaningless world
Your essence gives you purpose
Existentialists believe that we are born into a world without purpose —> there is
no divine plan
forced to create our own moral code, to invent a morality to live by
KEY EXISTENTIAL CONCEPTS
Absurdity
Anxiety
Alienation
Existence precedes essence
The Übermensch by Nietzsche —> an ideal human being who has the ability to
overcome traditional values, herd mentality and yourself
The death of God
Subjectivity
EXISTENTIALISTS
Absurd Theatre 2
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