Drama Review Eugene Ionesco – The Chairs

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1952 – Penguin Books – Spoiler alerts Ionesco promoted this rather sad story as a tragic farce with a cast of hundreds though we only see three characters, the Old Man, Old Woman, and the Orator. Set in what appears to be a house in a flooded France, after some unspecified apocalyptic event, the old couple prepare a room for a meaning of life talk by the as yet un-present orator. They have sent invitations to eveyone for the momentous event and we see the couple rushing to various doors to greet their guests as they arrive. The guests are either imaginary or invisible as we hear only the old man and woman’s half of the conversations as they greet everyone, offer seats and sell programmes. They are overwhelmed by the attendance and run out of chairs. They give hints of their own life stories. The old man missed his mother’s death and funeral and spent a great deal of his youth digging up the ground vainly trying to find her again, not knowing where she is. The couple are surprised when the unseen Emperor arrives, followed soon by the Orator. As the real but as yet unspeaking Orator prepares his great message to the last of humanity, the couple decide their life is complete and commit suicide by leaping out the window. We then find out the Orator is dumb, and unable to speak at all. Downright weird, and leaving a very uneasy feeling in its real audience. The play crystalizes the essence of Absurdist Theatre like no other. Arthur Chappell