The Chairs

E494282

The Chairs is a seminal absurdist play by Eugène Ionesco that portrays an elderly couple preparing an ever-growing number of empty chairs for invisible guests in a bleak, existential farce.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
The Chairs canonical 3
Fauteuils d’orchestre 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf absurdist play ⓘ
play ⓘ
associatedWith Theatre of the Absurd movement ⓘ
author Eugène Ionesco ⓘ
linked to: Eugene Ionesco
centralMotif empty chairs ⓘ
invisible audience ⓘ
countryOfOrigin France ⓘ
dramaticDevice absurd dialogue ⓘ
metatheatrical elements ⓘ
repetition ⓘ
dramaticStructure one-act play ⓘ
dramaticTone bleak ⓘ
comic ⓘ
tragicomic ⓘ
feature ever-increasing number of empty chairs ⓘ
invisible guests ⓘ
form dramatic text ⓘ
genre Theatre of the Absurd ⓘ
absurdist theatre ⓘ
farce ⓘ
tragicomedy ⓘ
hasAuthorNationality Romanian-French ⓘ
hasProtagonistsAge elderly ⓘ
languageStyle circular conversations ⓘ
nonsensical speech ⓘ
literaryPeriod 20th-century drama ⓘ
mainCharacters Old Man ⓘ
Old Woman ⓘ
medium stage performance ⓘ
movement French avant-garde theatre ⓘ
notableFor exploration of existential themes through farce ⓘ
minimalist setting ⓘ
use of invisible characters ⓘ
originalLanguage French ⓘ
philosophicalContext post-war existentialism ⓘ
setting a room in a house on an island ⓘ
subjectMatter failure of communication ⓘ
human loneliness ⓘ
search for meaning ⓘ
theme absurdity of human existence ⓘ
communication breakdown ⓘ
existentialism ⓘ
isolation ⓘ
meaninglessness of life ⓘ
old age ⓘ
writer Eugène Ionesco ⓘ
linked to: Eugene Ionesco

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Eugene Ionesco → notableWork → The Chairs ⓘ
Christopher Thompson → notableWork → Fauteuils d’orchestre ⓘ
linked to: The Chairs
Eugen Ionescu → notableWork → The Chairs ⓘ