Eugene Ionesco Plays

by Donald Watson (Translator)

A Calderbook CB49, first published in 1963
ISBN 10: 0714504645

"This fifth volume of the collected plays contains the full-length Exit the King and two short plays The Motor Show and Foursome. In Exit the King, M. Ionesco has succeeded in capturing the average man's fear of death, his inability to accept it, think about it or face it, and he plots out the stages at which acceptance becomes possible. In many ways, it is the author's most moving play to date; simple, compassionate, with moments of great tenderness and much humour. It has, in fact, a Shakespearian touch and was interpreted in Britain by Sir Alec Guinness. The Motor Show is a surrealistic, very funny little farce about a couple trying to buy a car and Foursome is one of those exercises in fast dialogue at which Ionesco has always excelled." (- from the back cover)

113 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1963

Reviews

[Te Aniwaniwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exit the King - we love the symbolism of the archetypal death of a king. The refusal to accept death, stagnation, infertility of the state, and wanting to live forever; qualms with mortality. Also found Marie interesting as a complex. Marie's entire identity is built off the king, needing his validation as a source of reflection to see herself, requiring him as a validation of her existence:

"He's forgetting me. I can feel it, he's leaving me behind. I'm nothing if he forgets me. I can't go on living if I don't exist in his distracted heart."

Foursome - funny little play made me think of the pointless arguments where people fight back and forth without realising they're the same:

Dupont: You're so stubborn, you can see for yourself how stubborn you are...
Durang: That's my line, old chap.. You just pinched my line... Mind the flowerpots. If you were honest, you'd have to admit it's you who's stubborn.
Dupont: And what have I to be stubborn about? One doesn't need to be stubborn when one's right. And you ought to admit that I'm the one who's right, yes, I'm right and that's that.

Monsieur Martin points this out when he says after observation "So I see you agree, the both of you." And then the three of them argue, repeat the same lines, fight over a woman who in the end comically says: "Ladies and gentelmen, I couldn't agree with you more. All this is perfectly idiotic."


The Motor Show - I enjoyed this because I thought of Ford and mass production of cars, the personalisation of cars, using he's and she's for objects, the human identification with cars, a simple play that shows the absurdity of even buying cars in the first place.