Existentialism and Theatre :: Existentialism

existentialist philosophy and Theatre Existentialism is a concept that became popular during the second universe War in France, and just after(prenominal) it. cut playrights throw off ofttimes 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 practise it appeared to be very Anti-British. Frenchaudiences however immediately understood the real means of the play, andreplaced the British with the Germans. Those sorts of hide meaningswere common throughout the period so that plays would be able to carry outcensorship. Existentialism proposes that man is full of anxiety and despairwith no meaning in his life, just simply existing, until he made decisive plectrum about his own future. That is the way to achieve dignity as a humanbeing. Existentialists felt that adopting a sociable or political cause wasone way of giving purpose to a life. Sartre is we ll cognize for the Theatreengage or Theatre committed, which is supposedly committed to socialand/or political action. On of the major playwrights during this period was 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 immunity when he wrotehis famous essay, Le Mythe de Sisyphe or The Myth of Sisyphus. Sisyphuswas the man condemned by the gods to roll a rock 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 pointlessexistence. Camus felt that it was necessary to oddity what the meaning oflife was, and that the human being longed for some sense of clearness in theworld, since if the world were clear, art would not exist. The Myth ofSisyphu s 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 tonic form of surrealistic theatre calledTheatre of the Absurd. Many historians lend the sudden popularityof absurdism in France to the gruesome revelations of gas chambers and war