Absurd drama

ABSURD DRAMA

The Penguin Dictionary of Theatre (1966) describes the Theatre of the Absurd as a term applied to a group of dramatists in the 1950s. They did not consider themselves as a school butthe all seemed to share some attitudes towards the predicament of man in the universe.
Inside the group there were nouns such as, Samuel Becket, Eugene Ionesco, Arthur Adamov, Jean Genet and HaroldPinter. What distinguishes these and other figures (Robert Pinget, N.F Simpson, Edward Albee, Fernando Arrabal, Günter Grass) from earlier dramatists is that the logical construction and anintellectually viable argument is abandoned, and instead the irrationality is transferred to the stage.

This particular term was the invention of Martin Esslin in his book The Theatre of the Absurd (1961) andit has made the term familiar to the English reading public.
As The Penguin Dictionary of Theatre does drama can be described in England under three headings: Poetic drama, Angry Drama and AbsurdDrama. Poetic drama has dead before either Angry or Absurd dramas reached the stage, nevertheless, without Poetic drama would not have been possible Anger and Absurd Drama.
Anger drama is topical,particular and political whereas, Absurd drama is timeless, universal and philosophical.

To understand the term “Absurd Drama” Martin Esslin at Penguin Books makes his explanation:
He said that absurddrama writers wanted to express their vision of the world as best as they can, simply because, as artists, they the urge to do so. While most traditional plays were concerned to tell a story, absurdplays were plays in which literally “nothing happens”. They create expectation to the viewer: what´s going to happen next? (tradit.) what is that we are seeing? (absurd plays)

Whereas the basis ofa well-made play is the implicit assumption that the world does make sense, absurd plays are concerned with expressing a sense of wonder, of incomprehension, a lack of meaning and definition.
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