Existentialism and Theatre :: Existentialism

Existentialism and Theatre Existentialism is a concept that became popular during the secondWorld War in France, and ripe after it. French playrights have often usedthe stage to express their views, and these views came to surface evenduring a Nazi occupation. Bernard Shaw got his play Saint Joan past theGerman censors be effort it appeared to be very Anti-British. Frenchaudiences however immediately understood the real meaning of the play, andreplaced the British with the Germans. Those sorts of hidden meaningswere common throughout the period so that plays would be able to passcensorship. Existentialism proposes that man is full of anxiety and despairwith no meaning in his life, just simply hold outing, until he made decisivechoice about his own future. That is the way to achieve dignity as a humanbeing. Existentialists felt that adopting a social or political cause wasone way of giving purpose to a life. Sartre is well known for the Theatreengage or Theatre committed, which is supposedly committed to socialand/or political action. On of the major playwrights during this period was blue jean-Paul Sartre.Sartre had been imprisoned in Germany in 1940 but managed to escape, andbecome one of the leaders of the Existential movement. Other popularplaywrights were Albert Camus, and Jean Anouilh. Just like Anouilh, Camusaccidentally became the spokesman for the French Underground when he wrotehis famous essay, Le Mythe de Sisyphe or The Myth of Sisyphus. Sisyphuswas the man condemned by the gods to roll a gem to the top of a mountain,only to have it roll back down again. For Camus, this related heavily toeveryday life, and he saw Sisyphus an absurd hero, with a work-shyexistence. Camus felt that it was necessary to wonder what the meaning oflife was, and that the human being longed for some sense of clarity in theworld, since if the world were clear, art would not exist. The Myth ofSisyphus became a prototype for existentialism in the theatre, andeventually The Theatre of the Absurd. Right after the Second World War, Paris became the theatre capitalof the west, and popularized a new form of surrealistic theatre calledTheatre of the Absurd. Many historians contribute the sudden popularityof absurdism in France to the gruesome revelations of gas chambers and war