Theatre of the Absurd

Course Content

Martin Esslin coined Theatre of the Absurd to group together a substantial number of post-World War II dramatic works that questioned realism and challenged the conventional dramatic form. There was no official Absurdist movement, and most playwrights whom we consider Absurdists did not identify themselves as such. Nevertheless, the designation is useful to begin thinking about their shared concern for what it means to be human. In the course, you will be provoked to consider this central question as you learn more about the playwrights’ dramatizations of habit, time, humour and suffering.