Qwiz5 Quizbowl Essentials – Eugène Ionesco

Franco-Romanian playwright Eugène Ionesco helped to create the Theatre of the Absurd, the dominant style of theater in the decades after World War II. Characterized by black humor, nihilism, and an interest in the philosophy of Existentialism, the Theatre of the Absurd was a major shift in the theater world. Ionesco pioneered techniques used by other Absurdist playwrights, techniques that played with logic and language to upend the audience’s expectations of conventional drama. But enough introduction--we’re lowering the curtains and dimming the lights. Take a seat and learn what you can about Ionesco! 

By analyzing questions, you can see patterns emerge, patterns that will help you answer questions. Qwiz5 is all about those patterns. In each installment of Qwiz5, we take an answer line and look at its five most common clues. Here we explore five clues that will help you answer a tossup on Eugène Ionesco.

THE BALD SOPRANO

The Bald Soprano was Ionesco’s first play, and premiered in 1950. Like much of Ionesco’s work, The Bald Soprano is difficult to summarize. The play is set in London and features two couples: the Smiths and the Martins. The pair of couples engage in meaningless chatter and are eventually joined by Mary, the Smith’s maid, as well as the local Fire Chief. Linguistic confusions abound, and at one point the Martins forget and then re-discover that they are husband and wife. The Bald Soprano ends by returning to the play’s beginning, only this time the Martins speak the Smiths’ dialogue. (Incidentally, no sopranos, bald or otherwise, appear in the play.  Ionesco said this was one of the reasons he gave the play this title--welcome to Absurdist theater!

THE CHAIRS

Ionesco’s one-act tragic farce The Chairs premiered two years after The Bald Soprano. In The Chairs an Old Man and Old Woman prepare to address an invisible audience. More and more empty chairs are brought onto the stage, but the Old Man and Old Woman speak to the chairs as if they were occupied. The invisible audience allegedly includes The Emperor, whose alleged presence greatly excites the pair. At the play’s end the Old Man and Old Woman entrust an Orator to deliver their most important message to the audience. The two then leap out a window to their deaths. Unfortunately, the Orator suffers from some form of communication impairment and is unable to convey their message. 

RHINOCEROS

Rhinoceros, which premiered in 1959, may be Ionesco’s best-known play. The play is set in an unnamed provincial French town beset by a strange malady: the town’s citizens are gradually transforming into rhinoceroses. Only Bérenger, a slovenly drunk who works for the newspaper, remains unchanged. Bérenger sees everyone around him join the rhinoceroses, even his beloved Daisy. Authority figures such as Bérenger’s boss, Mr. Papillon, and the otherwise unnamed Logician refuse to acknowledge the changes happening around them. 

EXIT THE KING

The character of Jean Bérenger recurs in four of Ionesco’s plays. These four plays: The Killer, Rhinoceros, Exit the King, and A Stroll in the Air are collectively known as the Bérenger Cycle. In Exit the King, Bérenger is the titular monarch. Once a powerful, godlike figure, the King is now dying. King Bérenger tries to deny his own mortality, rejecting the grim prognoses of The Doctor and his first wife Marguerite. In the end, however, the King comes to accept his impending death. 

THE KILLER

The first play in the Bérenger Cycle, The Killer begins with our protagonist, Bérenger, journeying to a radiant city. Within the city, however, he learns that there is a killer on the loose. The killer offers to show his victims a picture of the colonel but then drowns them when they are lured close. The object of Bérenger’s affections, Dany, is murdered and then Bérenger himself is threatened with death. Even an impassioned speech by Bérenger is not enough to dissuade his killer, but the protagonist’s final fate is unknown. 

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Quizbowl is about learning, not rote memorization, so we encourage you to use this as a springboard for further reading rather than as an endpoint. Here are a few things to check out: 

• Read this article to discover more about some of the primary playwrights in the Theatre of the Absurd. 

• Rhinoceros has long been interpreted as an allegory for the rise of fascism in Ionesco’s home country of Romania. 
  

• Although we typically think of the Theatre of the Absurd as a post-WWII invention, Ionesco himself identified Shakespeare as the king of Absurdism.
  

• One actor is particularly attached to the character of Mr. Smith from The Bald Soprano.  

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