Belonging to the body of plays written after WWII by European playwrights and popularly termed the "Theater of the Absurd," Eugène Ionesco's The Chairs is about a married couple, the Old Man and the Old Woman, who live in a tower on an island surrounded by stagnant, smelly water. It is night, everything is dark, and there is the sense that this is a post-apocalyptic world. Daylight used to last longer; Paris has collapsed and all that remains of it is a song; and the couple wait for the many guests they have invited to arrive by boat so they can hear the Old Man's "message." A great deal hangs on the successful delivery and positive reception of this message, as we learn both that he...
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