1. The concept of "theater of the absurd". Traits, paradoxes and symbols of the "theater of the absurd".

2. Swiss absurdist playwright F. Dürrenmatt. The problem of the price of an individual's life, the redemption of debts of the past in the drama "A Visit from the Old Lady."

3. Confrontation between romantic-adventurous and philistine-comfortable models of existence in M. Frisch’s drama “Site Cruz”.

4. E Ionesco - representative of the French "theater of the absurd". Portrayal of spiritual and intellectual emptiness modern society in the play "Rhinoceros".

5. General characteristics life and work of S. Beckett.

The concept of "theater of the absurd". Traits, paradoxes and symbols of the "theater of the absurd"

In the early 50s of the 20th century, theaters in France began to appear unusual performances, the implementation of which was devoid of elementary logic, the lines contradicted each other, and the meaning that was reproduced on stage was incomprehensible to the audience. These unusual performances also had a strange name - the theater of the "absurd", or the art of the "absurd".

The press immediately came out with support for this direction in theatrical art. With the help of criticism and advertising, the works of the theater of the "absurd" quickly penetrated the theaters of many countries around the world. During its existence, the theater of the “absurd” has firmly established itself in a number of contemporary modernist movements in art.

Although the theater of the "absurd" originated and arose in France, the art of the "absurd" was not related to the phenomena of French national art. The initiators of this trend were writers - the Romanian Eugene Ionesco (Ionesco) and the Irishman Beckett, who lived and worked in France at that time. At different periods, they were joined by some other playwrights - the Armenian A. Adamov, as well as the English writer G. Pinter, N. Simpson and others who lived in Paris.

The performances of the theater of the “absurd” were scandalous: the audience was indignant, some did not perceive it, some laughed, and some of the spectators were carried away. There were no absurdists in the plays of playwrights goodies. their characters are deprived of human dignity, downtrodden internally and externally, and morally crippled. The authors did not express either sympathy or indignation, they did not show or explain the reasons for the degradation of these people, and did not reveal the specific conditions that proved a person to lose human dignity. Absurdists tried to establish the idea that a person himself is to blame for his misfortunes, that it is not worth better participation if he is not able and unable to change life for the better.

Playwrights borrowed this method of contrasting the individual with society from the philosophy of existentialism, which was the basis of the art of the “absurd.”

The artists of the “absurd” borrowed from existentialist philosophers a view of the world as such, which was not subject to understanding and in which chaos reigned. Like the existentialists, the authors of the art of the "absurd" believed that people were powerless and could not influence environment, and society, in turn, could not and should not influence human life: “No society is able to reduce human suffering, no political system cannot free us from the burden of life,” preached E. Ionesco.

According to the philosophy of existentialism, E. Ionesco argued that all problems and social problems are the result of human action.

Inventively using the means of art, the figures of the theater of the “absurd” reflected in their works the main principles they borrowed from existentialist philosophers:

o isolation of a person from the outside world;

o individualism and isolation;

o inability to communicate with each other;

o invincibility of evil

o the inaccessibility of a person’s goal.

The existentialistic ideas inherent in the theater of the "absurd" were easily traced in the analysis of works of art of the "absurd".

Since the emergence of the theater of the "absurd" the name itself has been double meaning: on the one hand, it expressed the creative technique of playwrights - reducing certain features and provisions to the point of absurdity, depriving them of any logical connection and content, and on the other hand, it clearly defined the worldview of the authors, their understanding and embodiment in their works of reality as a world that existed without logic , - the world of the absurd.

In the dictionary "Cultural Studies of the 20th Century" the concept of absurdity was interpreted as such, which went beyond the limits of our understanding of the world. The absurd is not the absence of content, but the content is implicit.

What is absurd for our world can be perceived in another place as something that has little content that can be comprehended by the mind. Absurd thinking became the impetus for the formation of another world, simultaneously expanding the boundaries of the irrational basis of thought, and the absurdity itself acquired content that could be expressed and comprehended. The absurdity in the theater existed at the content and formal levels. He looked at philosophical ideas (which combined the drama of the absurd with the work of F. Kafka and existentialist writers) and artistic paradoxes, which testified to the use of traditions of folklore, black humor, and blasphemy.

In the reference dictionary literary terms the concept of absurdity was interpreted as “nonsense, nonsense.” The term in this sense was used by literary historians and critics, they analyzed the behavior of characters works of art from a standpoint of credibility. Absurd acquired its terminological status in the phrases “literature of the absurd”, theater of the “absurd”, which were used for the conventional names of works of art (novels, plays) that depicted life as a seemingly chaotic accumulation of accidents, meaningless, at first glance, situations. Emphasized illogicalism, irrationalism in the actions of characters, mosaic composition of works, grotesque and buffoonery in the means of their creation have become characteristic features of such art.

The term “absurdist literature” could be more unconventional in its semantic load.

E. Ionesco gave his definition of absurdity in an essay about F. Kafka: “Everything that has no purpose is absurd... Torn away from its religious and metaphysical roots, a person felt confused, all her actions became meaningless, insignificant, burdensome.”

The theater of the "absurd" is the most significant phenomenon of the theatrical avant-garde of the second half of the 20th century. Of all literary movements and schools he was the most influential literary group. The fact is that its representatives not only did not create any manifestos or programmatic works, but also did not communicate with each other at all. In addition, there were no more or less clear chronological boundaries, not to mention areal boundaries.

The term theater of the “absurd” entered literary circulation after the appearance of the monograph of the same name by the famous English literary critic Martin Esslin. In his monumental work (the first edition of the book “Theater of the Absurd” appeared in 1961), M. Esslin combined playwrights according to several typological criteria different countries and generations.

The literary critic noted that under the name theater of the “absurd” there was “no organized direction, no art school", and the term itself, according to its "discoverer", had an "auxiliary meaning", since it only "facilitated penetration into creative activity, did not provide an exhaustive description, nor was it comprehensive and exclusive."

Absurdist dramas, which shocked both audiences and critics, disregarded dramatic canons, outdated theatrical norms, and conventional restrictions. The revolt of the authors of the theater of the “absurd” is a revolt against any regulation, against “common sense” and normativity. Fantasy in the works of the absurdists was mixed with reality: in the Ioneskian play "Amadeus" a growing corpse lay in the bedroom for more than 10 years, for no apparent reason S. Beckett's characters became blind and mute; the animals spoke humanly ("Fox - Graduate Student" by S. Mrozhek). They mixed genres of works: in the theater of the “absurd” there were no “pure” genres, “tragicomedy” and “tragifarce”, “pseudodrama” and “comic melodrama” reigned here. Absurdist playwrights almost unanimously argued that the comic is tragic, and tragedy is ridiculous. J. Genet noted: “I believe that tragedies can be described as follows: an explosion of laughter, interrupted by sobs, which returns us to the source of all laughter - to the thought of death. The works of the "absurd" theater combined not only elements of different dramatic genres, but also elements of various spheres of art in general: pantomime, choir, circus, music hall, cinema. Paradoxical alloys and combinations were possible in them: absurdist plays could reproduce both dreams (A. Adamov) and nightmares (F. Arrabal). The plots of their works were often deliberately destroyed: the eventfulness was reduced to an absolute minimum ("Waiting for Godot", "Endgame", "Happy Days" by S. Beckett). Instead of dramatic natural dynamics, static reigned on the stage, in the words of E. Ionesco, "agony where there is no real action." The speech of the characters was destroyed, who, by the way, often simply did not hear or see each other, speaking “parallel” monologues (H. Pinter’s “Landscape”) into the void. Thus, the playwrights tried to solve the problem of human communication. Most of the absurdists are excited by the processes of totalitarianism - first of all, the totalitarianism of consciousness, the leveling of personality, which led to the use of only linguistic cliches and cliches ("The Bald Singer" by E. Ionesco), and as a result - to the loss of a human face, to the transformation (quite conscious) into terrible animals (“Rhinoceroses”. E. Ionesco).

Hidden important philosophical problems shone through the apparent absurdity:

o human ability to resist evil;

o reasons for shaming people (according to one’s own convictions, “infected”, dragged in by force)

o the human tendency to hide from unpleasant evidence;

o manifestation of world evil - “a pandemic of mass madness.”

During the first years of the existence of the “theater of the absurd,” its figures managed to attract the attention of the masses with their illogical, unusual works. The novelty of the techniques played a big role here. The audience showed curiosity rather than deep interest in the “theater of the absurd.” In the auditorium of the La Huchette theater, which specialized in staging plays by E. Ionesco, French speech was heard less and less often: this theater was visited by foreign tourists - the performances were viewed as a kind of attraction, but not as a serious achievement of French art. However, over time, the attitude towards the theater of the “absurd” changed.

The theater of the "absurd" did not receive wide, mass recognition and could not get it. Art could not find its mark on the whole people; it was characteristic only of a few who understood it.

The classic period of such theater was the 50s - early 60s. The end of the 60s was marked by international recognition of the “absurdists”: E. Ionesco was elected to the French Academy, and S. Beckett received the title of laureate Nobel Prize.

Now J. Genet, S. Beckett, E. Ionesco were no longer alive, but G. Pinter and E. Albee, S. Mrozhek and F. Arrabal continued to create. E. Ionesco believed that the theater of the “absurd” will always exist: the absurd filled reality and itself became reality. Indeed, the influence of the theater of the “absurd” on world literature, especially on drama, is difficult to overestimate. After all, it was precisely this direction that forced one to pay attention to the absurdity of human existence, liberated the theater, armed dramaturgy new technology, new techniques and means, introduced new themes and new heroes into literature. Theater of the "absurd" with its pain for man and his inner world with his criticism of automatism, philistinism, conformism, deindividuation and lack of communication has already become a classic of world literature.

Historical background the birth of the drama of the absurd. The concept of "Theater of the Absurd"

The origin of the absurd genre in Great Britain occurred mainly in the second half of the 20th century and had a certain sociocultural and historical context.

Despite the devastating effects of World War II, the second half of the 20th century became a period of peaceful prosperity. Great Britain has come face to face with globalization and the needs of a post-industrial society. In this paragraph we will consider the historical and social background of the emergence of this genre. play absurd linguistic stoppard

Regarding changes in the social and everyday life of people, we can highlight the following prerequisites:

• 1) “Consumer society”. Post-war reconstruction brought the economy to full recovery. It was symbolic beginning era of "consumer society". Societies where there is a high level wages and a large amount of free time provided a standard of living that the country had never known before.
• 2) Education. One of the important factors of prosperity was the incredible rise in the level of education among the entire population. Access to higher education provided more students and, as a result, an increase in the number of specialists with higher education.
• 3) Youth culture . The conservatism inherent in the first half of the 20th century gave way to tolerance towards social, religious and ethnic differences. The emergence of youth culture took place against the background of the denial of strict moral principles by the youth themselves, the emergence of freedom of thought and action. People wanted just such a society - consisting of free individuals with independent views, choosing a way of life far from what the masses were used to.
• 4) Immigration flows . The post-war environment prompted the immigration of hundreds of thousands of Irish, Indians and Pakistanis, which played a special role in reconstruction, although it was met with unprecedented levels of hostility from the British. It was necessary to create special laws, one of which was the Race Relations Act (1976), which provided enormous assistance in resolving ethnic conflicts. Although certain racial prejudices still exist today, the second half of the 20th century saw great strides towards fostering respect and tolerance for people of different races. ethnic groups. (Brodey, Malgaretti, 2003: 251-253)

IN economically, social pressure and unemployment reigned everywhere. Although prosperity spread throughout Europe, huge amount workers and their families faced a crisis due to job losses. The closure of mines, automobile and metallurgical plants led to unemployment and social unrest in the 70s and 80s of the 20th century.

For example, in 1984, the largest miners' strike in British history occurred. Margaret Thatcher faced fierce resistance from workers when attempting to close the coal mines. However, this was just the beginning. The Thatcher years were marked by many similar cases(strikes of railway workers, representatives of public utilities, etc.)

All of the above factors, of course, could not but influence the cultural aspect of human life. New forms of expressing reality were needed, new ways of conveying philosophy and the complexity of life to people. The answer to this need was the emergence of many modern genres culture, literature, one of which was the theater of the absurd.

In literature, since 1960, Great Britain has been swept by a wave of publication of new works. Many of them were written only for quantity, many have survived to this day as examples of quality literature. Nevertheless, modern literature It is quite difficult to classify, because, despite all the differences between genres and works, they are all designed to display the kaleidoscope of modern existence. Postmodern art has spread to many areas human life However, one thing is clear - British literature has opened new horizons for readers modern life, expressing it, sometimes, in forms that are not quite familiar to the reader. (Brodey, Malgaretti 2003)

While prose and poetry moved away from the new canons of the 20th century, drama studied and used them. Traditional performing arts described the aspirations and desires of the upper class of British society, excluding any kind of experimentation, both with language and with the process of production. However, at the same time, Europe was completely absorbed in the rejection of tradition in favor of novelty and conceptuality, bringing the plays of Eugene Ionesco to the stage.

E. Ionesco's plays were called absurd because the plot and dialogues were very difficult to understand, revealing their illogicality. Absurdists received complete freedom to use language, playing with it, involving the viewer in the performance itself. There were no unnecessary distractions in the form of decorations; the audience was completely absorbed in what was happening on stage. Even the consistency of the dialogues was perceived as a factor distracting from understanding the meaning and idea of ​​the play.

The absurd genre appeared in the mid-twentieth century in Western Europe, as one of the directions of drama. The world in plays of this genre is presented as a heap of facts, words, actions, thoughts, devoid of any meaning.

The term “theater of the absurd” was first used by the famous theater critic Martin Esslin, who saw in certain works the embodiment of the idea of ​​the meaninglessness of life as such.

This art direction was fiercely criticized, but nevertheless gained unprecedented popularity after the Second World War, which only emphasized the uncertainty and instability of human life. In addition, the term itself has been criticized. There were even attempts to redefine it as anti-theater.

In practice, the theater of the absurd questions the realism of existence, people, situations, thoughts, and all the usual classical theatrical techniques. The simplest cause-and-effect relationships are destroyed, the categories of time and space are blurred. All the illogicality, meaninglessness and aimlessness of the action are aimed at creating an unrealistic, maybe even creepy atmosphere.

France became the birthplace of absurdism, although its founders were the Irishman Samuel Beckett and the Romanian Eugene Ionesco, who created in French, i.e. non-native language. And although Ionesco was bilingual (his childhood was spent in Paris), it was the feeling of a “non-native” language that gave him the opportunity to consider linguistic phenomena from the point of view of the absurd, relying on the lexical structure as the main structure of the architectonics of plays. The same undoubtedly applies to S. Beckett. A known disadvantage - working in a non-native language - turned into an advantage. Language in absurdist plays acts as an obstacle to communication; people speak and do not hear each other.

Despite relative youth this direction, he managed to become quite popular thanks to the logic of illogicality. And at the heart of absurdism lie serious philosophical ideas and cultural roots.

First of all, it is worth mentioning the relativistic theory of knowledge of the world - a worldview that denies the very possibility of knowing objective reality

Also, the formation of absurdism was greatly influenced by existentialism - a subjective-idealistic philosophical direction built on irrationalism, a tragic worldview, the illogicality of the surrounding world and the inability of man to control it.

By the early 1960s, absurdism went beyond the borders of France and began to rapidly spread throughout the world. However, nowhere else did absurdism appear in its pure form. Most playwrights who can be classified in this movement are not so radical in the techniques of absurdism. They retain a tragic worldview and the main issues, reflecting the absurdity and contradictory nature of situations, often refuse to destroy the plot and plot, lexical experiments, and their heroes are specific and individual, the situations are definite, and social motives very often appear. Their embodiment is in a realistic reflection of reality, which cannot be the case with the plays of S. Beckett and E. Ionesco.

However, what is important is that in the 1960s the absurdist technique received an unexpected development in a new direction of visual art - performance ( original title- happening), the works of which are any actions of the artist that occur in real time. The performance is not based at all on the semantic and ideological categories of absurdism, but uses its formal techniques: the absence of a plot, the use of a cycle of “freely flowing images,” the division of structure - lexical, essential, ideological, existential.

Absurdist playwrights often used not just absurdity, but reality in its manifestations, reduced to absurdity. The method of reduction to the absurd is a method when what one wants to deny is initially taken as truth. We take a false proposition and make it true with our entire existence in accordance with the method of reduction to the absurd. Paradox arises only as a result of the use of indirect evidence. We take a false (incomplete) proposition and make it true in accordance with the method of reduction to the absurd.

Thus, using the method of leading to a contradiction, the author implements the formula “what was required to be proven.” Although the reader himself is capable of coming to this conclusion, here we cannot yet talk about any logical internal form of the work. There is only the character’s point of view, the “false”, and the author’s point of view, the “true” - they are in direct opposition. The author forces the hero to follow his logic to the end. The logical dead end to which the writer leads his hero through the method of reduction to the absurd is obviously part of the author's intention. Therefore, we consider absurd stories as a kind of thought experiments. (http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/)

But in other cases, the author does not limit himself to such a simple and formal solution to the problem. The hero continues to insist on his own, he is obsessed with his idea, he does not feel that he has crossed the boundaries of common sense. All this gives the plot of the work an absurd character. Expanding an idea towards the absurd is a process that does not always depend on the will of the author and his intentions. Now the author must move behind his hero, whose point of view leaves a static position and gains dynamics. All art world, the entire structure of the work is turned upside down: the center of the work becomes the idea itself, the “false,” which, as it were, takes away the author’s right to vote and builds reality independently. An idea organizes the artistic world not according to the laws of common sense, as, say, the author would do, but according to its own absurd laws. The author's point of view is blurred. In any case, it does not have a visible predominance in this particular fragment of the text, but as much as the author initially did not agree with this “impeccable” idea, he now fears it and does not believe in it. And, of course, the hero of the work meets the author where his insensitivity reaches its limit. The hero is afraid either of the consequences of his theories, or of the theory itself, which can sometimes lead very far and come into conflict not only with ethics, but also with common sense itself.

The most popular absurdist play by S. Beckett, Waiting for Godot, is one of the first examples of the Theater of the Absurd, which critics point to. Written and first performed in France in 1954, the play had an extraordinary impact on theatergoers due to its new and strange rules. Consisting of desolate settings (except for a virtually leafless tree, clown-like tramps, and highly symbolic language), Godot encourages audiences to question all old rules and try to find meaning in a world that cannot be known. The heart of the play is the theme of “endurance” and “getting through the day” so that tomorrow you will have the strength to continue. In terms of structure, Godot is essentially a cyclical two-act play. It begins with two lonely tramps on a country road waiting for the arrival of a certain man called Godot, and ends with the original situation. Many critics have concluded that the second act is simply a repetition of the first. In other words, Vladimir and Estragon can forever remain “waiting for Godot.” We will never know if they found a way out of this situation. As an audience, we can only watch them repeat the same actions, listen to them repeat the same words, and accept the fact that Godot may or may not come. Much like them, we are stuck in a world where our actions determine existence. We may be looking for answers or meaning in life, but most likely we won't find them. Thus, this play is structured in such a way as to make us believe that Godot may never come and that we must accept the uncertainty that pervades our daily lives. The two main characters, Vladimir and Estragon, spend their days reliving the past, trying to find the meaning of their existence, and even considering suicide as a form of salvation. However, as characters they are absurdist archetypes who remain isolated from the public. They essentially lack personality and their vaudevillian mannerisms, especially when it comes to contemplating suicide, tend to make the audience laugh rather than perceive what is happening as tragic. (http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/)

For another representative of this genre, E. Ionesco, absurdity is a tool, a way of thinking, the main opportunity to break through the network of indifference that tightly envelops consciousness modern man. The absurd is a look from a completely unexpected point of view and a look that is refreshing. It can shock and surprise, but this is precisely what can break through spiritual blindness and deafness, because it is against the usual.

The situations, characters and dialogues of his plays follow the images and associations of dreams rather than everyday reality. Language, with the help of funny paradoxes, clichés, sayings and other verbal games, is freed from habitual meanings and associations. E. Ionesco's plays originate from street theater, commedia dell'arte, circus clownery. A typical technique is a pile of objects that threaten to engulf the actors; things take on life, and people turn into inanimate objects. “Ionesco’s Circus” is a term quite often applied to his early drama. Meanwhile, he recognized only an indirect connection of his art with surrealism, more readily with Dada.

Achieving maximum impact, Eugene Ionesco “attacks” the usual logic of thinking, leading the viewer into a state of ecstasy by the lack of expected development. Here, as if following the precepts of street theater, he demands improvisation not only from the actors, but also makes the viewer confusedly look for the development of what is happening on stage and off it. Problems that were once perceived as just another non-figurative experiment are beginning to acquire the quality of relevance.

Also, fully this description The nature and essence of plays in the absurd genre refers to the works of Tom Stoppard and Daniil Kharms.

Since the 50s of the twentieth century, plays with a meaningless plot have been increasingly staged on various theater stages, presenting to the viewer a seemingly combination of incompatible things. The so-called theater of the absurd (or drama of the absurd ) —the theater of paradox, “tragedy of speech,” experimental theater that requires improvisation not only from the actor, but also from the viewer. Theater of the Absurd challenged cultural traditions and to some extent to the political and social order.

Its origins included three French and one Irish authors — Eugene Ionesco, Jean Genet, Arthur Adamov and Samuel Beckett.

Wanting to give a name to such unusual plays, the English critic Martin Esslin in 1961 introduced the concept "theater of the absurd" . But, for example, Eugene Ionesco considered the term “theater of the absurd” not very suitable, he proposed another  "theater of ridicule" . And the idea of ​​this genre of play came to him while studying English language according to the tutorial. E. Ionesco was surprised to discover that in ordinary words there lurks an abyss of absurdity, due to which sometimes clever and pompous phrases completely lose their meaning. The playwright explained the purpose of such a play: “We wanted to bring to the stage and show the audience the very existential existence of man in its fullness, integrity, in its deep tragedy, his fate, that is, the awareness of the absurdity of the world.”

Indeed, the events of any play in the theater of the absurd are far from reality and do not strive to get closer to it. The incredible and unimaginable can manifest themselves both in characters and in surrounding objects and occurring phenomena. Place and time of action in such dramatic works, as a rule, is quite difficult to determine. There is no logic either in the actions of the characters or in their words.

Let's highlight common features, characteristic of the works of the theater of the absurd: Material from the site

• fantastic elements coexist with reality;
• “pure” dramatic genres are being replaced by so-called mixed ones, combining different genres: tragicomedy, tragifarce, comic melodrama, etc.;
• elements are used different types arts (pantomime, choir, musical, etc.);
• In contrast to the natural dynamism of the scene, static is often observed. In the words of E. Ionesco, “agony in which there is no real action”;
• The speech of the characters is subject to changes, who often simply do not hear or see each other, and pronounce “parallel” monologues into the void.

The end of the 60s of the twentieth century was marked by international recognition of the theater of the absurd. One of its founders, Samuel Beckett, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969. Answering the question " Is there a future for the theater of the absurd?", Eugene Ionesco argued that this direction will live forever, because "the absurd has so filled reality, the very one that is called “realistic reality”, that realities and realisms seem to us as true as they are absurd, and the absurd seems to be reality: let’s look around around you."

The influence of the theater of the absurd on development contemporary art it is difficult to overestimate: in world literature he introduced new themes, provided dramaturgy with new techniques and means, contributed to the emancipation modern theater generally.

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In the mid-20th century, a phenomenon called “theater of the absurd” appeared in European drama. It became truly innovative and unusual for the viewer, accustomed to classic “logical” productions. But despite this, the new art aroused curiosity and interest. What is the theater of the absurd and what rethinking has it received today?

Description

The focus of an absurdist play is not on action and intrigue, but on the author’s perception and individual understanding of a problem. Moreover, everything that happens on stage is devoid of logical connection. This is done so that the viewer is confused, able to get rid of patterns in his mind and look at his life from several angles at once.

At first glance, the world in such “illogical” plays appears as a chaotic, meaningless accumulation of facts, characters, actions, words, in which there is no specific place and time of action. However, upon careful examination, there is a logical connection between all these elements, only it is strikingly different from what we were used to before. The most striking theatrical embodiments of the principles of absurdism were the plays of E. Ionesco “The Bald Singer” and S. Beckett “Waiting for Godot.” This is a kind of parody (or philistinism) of the bourgeois world of comfort, its fascism. In these plays one can clearly observe the disintegration of connections between word and action, a violation of the dialogue structure itself.

Despite the seriousness and scale of the social problems addressed, the world of the theater of the absurd is incredibly comical. The playwrights show reality, society is already at that phase of decay when no one is pitied. Therefore, plays of this genre readily use parodies, cynicism, and laughter. The viewer is clearly given to understand that it is useless and pointless to fight this surreal world of absurdity. You just need to believe in it and accept it.

Story

It is noteworthy that the term “theater of the absurd” itself appeared after the emergence of innovative productions. It comes from theater critic Martin Esslin, who published a book under that title in 1962. He drew parallels between the new dramatic phenomenon and the philosophy of existentialism of A. Camus, Dadaism, poetry of non-existent words and avant-garde art of the early 20th century. All this, to a certain extent, according to the critic, “educated” the theater of the absurd and shaped it the way it appeared before the audience.

It should be noted that such a creative approach to drama remained in disgrace for a long time among formidable critics. However, after World War II, the genre began to gain popularity. Its main ideologists are considered to be four masters of words: E. Ionesco, S. Beckett, J. Genet and A. Adamov. Despite belonging to the same theatrical genre, each of them still had its own unique technique, which was more than the concept of “absurdity”. By the way, E. Ionesco himself did not accept the new term, instead of “theater of the absurd” he said “theater of ridicule.” But Esslin’s definition, despite persistence and criticism, remained in art, and the genre gained popularity throughout the world.

Origins

Attempts to create a theater of the absurd were made long before the European wave in Russia, in the 1930s. Its idea belonged to the Association of Real Art (OBERIUT), or more precisely, to Alexander Vvedensky. In the new genre, he wrote the plays “Minin and Pozharsky”, “God is All Around”, “Christmas Tree at the Ivanovs”, etc. His like-minded writer was Daniil Kharms, writer, poet and member of OBERIU.

In Russian drama of the late 20th century, the theater of the absurd can be observed in the plays of L. Petrushevskaya, V. Erofeev and others.

Modernity

Today this theatrical genre is quite widespread. And, as a rule, the avant-garde phenomenon (as in its historical past) is associated with small (private) theaters. A striking example is the modern “Theater of the Absurd” of Gauguin Solntsev, the famous Russian freak artist. In addition to touring productions under the motto “Our whole life is theater,” he gives acting lessons, which, in the author’s opinion, are useful not only on stage, but also in everyday life.

Other theater groups exist and are developing in this genre.

Sparrow

The International Theater of the Absurd "Sparrow" is one of the popular troupes. It was created in 2012 in Kharkov. At first it was just a duet of Vasily Baidak (Uncle Vasya) and Alexander Serdyuk (Collman). Today, “Sparrow” includes six artists. All participants have higher education, but not acting education. The name of the group migrated from KVN. And the word “foreign” is deliberately misspelled. Posters and performances of “Sparrow” are always bright, not without humor, farce and, of course, absurdity. The guys come up with all the plots for the productions themselves.

In music

The avant-garde genre is reflected not only in literature and performing arts, but also in music. So in 2010, the eighteenth studio album of the Picnic group, Theater of the Absurd, was released.

The musical group was formed in 1978 and still exists. He began working in the style of Russian rock and over time acquired an individual sound with the addition of symphonic keyboards and exotic instruments from the peoples of the world.

“Theater of the Absurd” is an album that opens with the composition of the same name. However, its text is devoid of comedy. Quite the contrary - the song has dramatic notes, saying that the whole world is a theater of the absurd, and the person in it is the main character.

The album also includes compositions with such interesting names, like “Doll with a Human Face”, “Urim Thummim”, “Wild Singer” (read as a reference to Ionesco’s play “The Bald Singer”), “And the make-up will wash off”. In general, the next creation of the Picnic group can be compared to a small theatrical production with an original selection of images and themes.

In humor

One of the main features of the “illogical” genre is humor. This applies not only to the absurd accumulation of words and phrases of their play, but also to the images themselves, which can appear at an unexpected time in an unexpected place. It was this trend that was more than used in the “Theater of the Absurd” number by the comedy duo Demis Karibidis and Andrey Skorokhod, famous residents of the show Comedy Club . It is based on the work of F.M. Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment", which was originally rethought by the artists. The characters, the old pawnbroker (Demis Karibidis) and the student Rodion Raskolnikov (Andrey Skorokhod), in addition to plot points, also touched upon modern economic, cultural and political realities.

In absurdist plays, in contrast to the logical plays of ordinary drama, the author conveys to the reader and viewer his feeling of some problem, constantly violating logic, so the viewer, accustomed to ordinary theater, becomes confused and feels discomfort, which is the purpose of the “illogical” " theater aimed at ensuring that the viewer gets rid of patterns in his perception and looks at his life in a new way. Supporters of the “logical” theater say that the world in the “theater of the absurd” is presented as a meaningless, devoid of logic pile of facts, actions, words and destinies, but when reading such plays one can notice that they are composed of a number of completely logical fragments. The logic of the connection between these fragments differs sharply from the logic of connection between the parts of a “regular” play. The principles of “absurdism” were most fully embodied in the dramas “The Bald Singer” ( La cantatrice chauve, ) Romanian-French playwright Eugene Ionesco and “Waiting for Godot” ( Waiting for Godot,) Irish writer Samuel Beckett.

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✪ Oleg Fomin’s workshop at the MITRO Theater Faculty. Theater of the Absurd

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The term "theater of the absurd" first appeared in the work of theater critic Martin Esslin ( Martin Esslin), who wrote a book with the same title in 1962. Esslin saw in certain works the artistic embodiment of Albert Camus's philosophy of the fundamental meaninglessness of life, which he illustrated in his book The Myth of Sisyphus. The theater of the absurd is believed to be rooted in the philosophy of Dadaism, poetry of non-existent words and avant-garde art. Despite sharp criticism, the genre gained popularity after World War II, which pointed to the significant uncertainty of human life. The introduced term was also criticized; there were attempts to redefine it as “anti-theater” and “ new theater" According to Esslin, the absurdist theater movement was based on the productions of four playwrights - Eugene Ionesco ( Eugene Ionesco), Samuel Beckett ( Samuel Beckett), Jean Genet ( Jean Genet) and Arthur Adamov ( Arthur Adamov), however, he emphasized that each of these authors had his own unique technique that went beyond the term “absurd.” The following group of writers is often singled out - Tom Stoppard ( Tom Stoppard), Friedrich Dürrenmatt ( Friedrich Dürrenmatt), Fernando Arrabal ( Fernando Arrabal), Harold Pinter ( Harold Pinter), Edward Albee ( Edward Albee) and Jean Tardieu ( Jean Tardieu). Eugene Ionesco did not recognize the term “theater of the absurd” and called it “the theater of ridicule.”

The inspiration for the movement is Alfred Jarry ( Alfred Jarry), Luigi Pirandello ( Luigi Pirandello), Stanislav Vitkevich ( Stanislaw Witkiewicz), Guillaume Apollinaire ( Guillaume Apollinaire), surrealists and many others.

The “theater of the absurd” (or “new theater”) movement apparently originated in Paris as an avant-garde phenomenon associated with small theaters in the Latin Quarter, and after some time gained worldwide recognition.

The theater of the absurd is considered to deny realistic characters, situations and all other relevant theatrical techniques. Time and place are uncertain and changeable, even the simplest causal connections are destroyed. Pointless intrigues, repetitive dialogues and aimless chatter, dramatic inconsistency of actions - everything is subordinated to one goal: to create a fabulous, and perhaps terrible, mood.

Critics of this approach, in turn, point out that the characters in “absurd” plays are quite realistic, as are the situations in them, not to mention theatrical techniques, and the deliberate destruction of cause-and-effect allows the playwright to lead the viewer away from the standard, stereotyped way of thinking, forces him, right during the course of the play, to look for a solution to the illogical nature of what is happening and, as a result, to more actively perceive the stage action.

Eugene Ionesco himself wrote about “The Bald Singer”: “To feel the absurdity of banality and language, their falseness is already to move forward. To take this step, we must dissolve in all this. The comic is the unusual in its original form; what amazes me most is the banality ; the poverty of our daily conversations is where the hyperreal is."

In addition, illogicality and paradox, as a rule, produce a comic impression on the viewer, revealing to a person the absurd aspects of his existence through laughter. Seemingly meaningless intrigues and dialogues suddenly reveal to the viewer the pettiness and meaninglessness of his own intrigues and conversations with family and friends, leading him to rethink his life. As for the dramatic inconsistency in the plays of the “absurd”, it almost completely corresponds to the “clip” perception of a modern person, in whose head during the day television programs, advertising, messages on social networks, telephone SMS are mixed - all this rains down on his head in in the most disorderly and contradictory form, representing the incessant absurdity of our life.

New York Untitled Theater Company No. 61 (Untitled Theater Company #61) announced the creation of a “modern theater of the absurd”, consisting of new productions in this genre and adaptations classic stories new directors. Other initiatives include: Festival of works by Eugene Ionesco.

"Traditions French theater Absurdity in Russian drama exists in a rare worthy example. You can mention Mikhail Volokhov. But the philosophy of the absurd is still absent in Russia, so it remains to be created.”

Theater of the Absurd in Russia

The basic ideas of the theater of the absurd were developed by members of the OBERIU group back in the 30s of the 20th century, that is, several decades before the emergence of a similar trend in Western European literature. In particular, one of the founders of the Russian theater of the absurd was Alexander Vvedensky, who wrote the plays “Minin and Pozharsky” (1926), “God is Possible All Around” (1930-1931), “Kupriyanov and Natasha” (1931), “Yolka at the Ivanovs” (1939), etc. In addition, other OBERIUTs worked in a similar genre, for example, Daniil Kharms.

In dramaturgy more late period(1980s) elements of the theater of the absurd can be found in the plays of Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, in Venedikt Erofeev’s play “Walpurgis Night, or the Commander’s Steps”, and a number of other works

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Kondakov D.A. 1949-1953. "Linguistic absurdity" / D.A. Kondakov // The work of Eugene Ionesco in the context of the ideological and artistic quest of European literature of the 20th century./ D.A. Kondakov. - Novopolotsk: PSU, 2008.- 188 p.

Ionesco E. Is there a future for the theater of the absurd? / Ionesco E. // Speech at the colloquium “The end of the absurd?” / Theater of the Absurd. Sat. articles and publications. SPb., 2005, p. 191-195. [Electronic resource] URL: http://ec-dejavu.ru/a/Absurd_b.html (access date: 12/03/12)

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M. Esslin Samuel Beckett. In search of oneself / Esslin M.// Theater of the Absurd./ Transl. from English G. Kovalenko. - St. Petersburg: Baltic Seasons, 2010, p. 31-94 [Electronic resource] URL: http://ec-dejavu.ru/b-2/Beckett.html (access date: 12/03/12)

Ionesco E. Between life and dreams: Plays. Novel. Essay // Collection. op. / E.Ionesco; lane from fr. - St. Petersburg: Symposium, 1999.- 464 p.

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