Martin Esslin (1918–2002)
Author of The Theatre of the Absurd
About the Author
Martin Esslin was at his death in 2002 at the age of 83, Emeritus Professor of Drama at Stanford University.
Image credit: Babelio.com
Works by Martin Esslin
Absurd Drama: Amedee, Professor Taranne, The Two Executioners, The Zoo Story (1965) — Introduction — 119 copies
The Encyclopedia of World Theater: With 420 Illustrations and an Index of Play Titles (1977) 19 copies
C51 - Artaud 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Pereszlényi, Julius
- Other names
- Esslin, Martin Julius
Pereszlényi, Márton Gyula - Birthdate
- 1918-06-06
- Date of death
- 2002-02-24
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- dramatist
critic
translator - Organizations
- British Broadcasting Corporation (joined|1940|producer and scriptwriter|European Service|head of BBC Radio Drama|1963-1977)
Florida state university (professor of theatre|1969-1976)
Stanford university (professor of drama|1977-1988)
Garrick Club
Royal Shakespeare Company (literary advisor)
Arts Council of Great Britain (Drama Panel member) - Awards and honors
- Order of the British Empire (1972)
- Relationships
- Gerstenberg, Renate (wife)
Hochwälder, Fritz (author) - Short biography
- Nationality: United Kingdom
Born: Hungary, 06/06/1918
Death: London, 24/02/2002
Biography: Martin Esslin is a British writer and critic, born in Budapest, Hungary June 6, 1918 and died at the age of 83, in London February 24, 2002 following a long battle with Parkinson's disease.
Expatriate with his family in Vienna, Austria, Martin Esslin studied English and philosophy at university.
He began an acting career on stage at the seminar of Max Reinhardt drama but, in 1938, at the dawn of the theatrical debut, the Nazi occupation of Austria forced him to leave the country.
He spent a year in Brussels, Belgium, before settling in Britain where he became a writer and producer for the BBC. He was then promoted to head of radio drama during the 1960s. He fulfilled his dream by creating the "national theater," which he led the rest of his life.
During this period, the BBC produced hundreds of radio plays, he translated into English with his team. Martin Esslin is particularly known for having established, in one of his essays, the term "theater of the absurd," a phrase become popular since then. - Nationality
- Hungary
UK (naturalised) - Birthplace
- Budapest, Hungary
- Places of residence
- Vienna, Austria
- Place of death
- London, England, UK
- Map Location
- UK
Members
Reviews
Very readable and comprehensive introduction to Absurdism in the theatre. While few people now have probably seen more than one or two Absurdist plays, if any, this book explains why they are still of interest and relevance beyond the confines of the theatre. This is for a number of reasons:
Firstly, the influence of this movement has stretched out to nearly every modern cultural format - to literature, film, TV, music videos, computer games, memes, and whatever else you can think of. show more Understanding these influences gives us a better appreciation of each of these respective domains individually, as well as of modern culture as a whole.
Secondly, the thought processes required to create, and to understand absurdist plays, differ in so many conceptually interesting ways from normal thought - sometimes subtle, sometimes stark. Hence coming to grips with these is in itself intellectually rewarding and creatively stimulating.
Thirdly, the theatre of the absurd is a rich source of unique,sometimes challenging, visual metaphors. Metaphors are key to understanding the theatre of the absurd, as they are with our understanding of poetry, of scientific concepts, as well as in more specific areas such as the psychology of dreams (which has a very strong link to absurdist theatre). Metaphors being flexible, the theatre of the absurd has relevance across these domains too.
Finally – this book opens up a whole range of interesting characters (the playwrights), their personal histories, their psychology and neuroses, and their works as a source of potential future reading and study.
This book is also quite clear to clarify the differences between Surrealism, and Absurdism, so we are left in no confusion as to what demarcates each. Though a few individuals transitioned from the earlier movement, Surrealism, to the more recent movement Absurdism, this marked a change in their style and creative philosophy.
Definitely a book to read if you have even a passing interest in theatre, and highly recommended for anyone else with an interest in 20th Century culture and beyond. show less
Firstly, the influence of this movement has stretched out to nearly every modern cultural format - to literature, film, TV, music videos, computer games, memes, and whatever else you can think of. show more Understanding these influences gives us a better appreciation of each of these respective domains individually, as well as of modern culture as a whole.
Secondly, the thought processes required to create, and to understand absurdist plays, differ in so many conceptually interesting ways from normal thought - sometimes subtle, sometimes stark. Hence coming to grips with these is in itself intellectually rewarding and creatively stimulating.
Thirdly, the theatre of the absurd is a rich source of unique,sometimes challenging, visual metaphors. Metaphors are key to understanding the theatre of the absurd, as they are with our understanding of poetry, of scientific concepts, as well as in more specific areas such as the psychology of dreams (which has a very strong link to absurdist theatre). Metaphors being flexible, the theatre of the absurd has relevance across these domains too.
Finally – this book opens up a whole range of interesting characters (the playwrights), their personal histories, their psychology and neuroses, and their works as a source of potential future reading and study.
This book is also quite clear to clarify the differences between Surrealism, and Absurdism, so we are left in no confusion as to what demarcates each. Though a few individuals transitioned from the earlier movement, Surrealism, to the more recent movement Absurdism, this marked a change in their style and creative philosophy.
Definitely a book to read if you have even a passing interest in theatre, and highly recommended for anyone else with an interest in 20th Century culture and beyond. show less
I acquired this one from my recently late uncle's collection. It was a somewhat dry read but there were points of interest all through it. Although this book suggests in its Preface that this book is more than a survey of four important writers in the Theatre of the Absurd, it pretty much is. It gives some background on each of these writers and also gives summaries of specific instances of their work. This is the meat of this book.
The main thing about this book that I really hated was the show more length of some of the chapters. The first chapter is 55 pages long, the third is 66 pages long, and the fifth is 83 pages long! The author really should've broken these chapters up into more easily digestible portions. Other than that this book is not bad, but also not particularly what I was looking for concerning its subject matter. I was expecting more of a discussion on the commonalities and conventions found in works in the Theatre of the Absurd. However, there is some useful information in there for my purposes at least.
Would I recommend this book to anyone? Well, if you have a particular interest in Samuel Beckett, Arthur Adamov, Eugene Ionesco, and/or Jean Genet then yes as they are covered to some depth as is their work. Otherwise, probably not. show less
The main thing about this book that I really hated was the show more length of some of the chapters. The first chapter is 55 pages long, the third is 66 pages long, and the fifth is 83 pages long! The author really should've broken these chapters up into more easily digestible portions. Other than that this book is not bad, but also not particularly what I was looking for concerning its subject matter. I was expecting more of a discussion on the commonalities and conventions found in works in the Theatre of the Absurd. However, there is some useful information in there for my purposes at least.
Would I recommend this book to anyone? Well, if you have a particular interest in Samuel Beckett, Arthur Adamov, Eugene Ionesco, and/or Jean Genet then yes as they are covered to some depth as is their work. Otherwise, probably not. show less
This is obviously an essential read for anyone with an interest in theatre: a book that has managed to remain as influential and as fresh as it was when it was published in the 60s. Esslin can easily brag of having been there first. Before everyone started jumping on the "absurd" bandwagon he wrote a whole book devoted to the subject. Hell, even the name "Theatre of the Absurd" was coined by him. Part of the reason why the book hasn't lost its appeal is, I think, the fact that it is very show more accessible. You don't need to know much about the subject in order to understand Esslin's views. It offers a basic understanding of the works of playwrights typically associated with the theatre of the absurd, such as Beckett, Pinter, Ionesco, Adamov, Genet, Albee, etcetera. The book does not overwhelm with details, nor does it delve deeply into each play. Esslin prefers to merely touch upon each work only as much as it is necessary in order to draw comparisons that will make it as easily for us as possible to find the common theme and to solve the "puzzle" of the play. I found this book very interesting, though didn't exactly love it. I admit to enjoying reading the works of the playwrights mentioned a great deal more, but with the help of this book I now understand them better. If you plan to do an extensive read of any of the playwrights mentioned above, The Theatre of the Absurd will definitely enhance your experience show less
A history of absurdist theatre, with thorough profiles of some of the leading artists of absurdism, such as Beckett, Ionesco, and Genet. The author traces absurdism back throughout the history of theatre, tying in threads even from the Greek and Roman comedic dramatists. He finds traces of aburdist theatre in Shakespeare, and traces the influence of Shakespeare on some of the more modern writers, after modern Theatre of the Absurd rose post WWII. A good work overall, but begins to get a bit show more draggy before it is over. Recommended for any serious student of theatre, or for anyone interested in knowing the origins and (non-)meaning behind some of their favorite absurdist works. show less
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