SOURCE: “The Evolution of the Dramatic Technique of Eugène Ionesco,” in Nottingham French Studies, Vol. XIV, No. 1, May 1975, pp. 31-41.

In the following essay, Newberry examines the development of Ionesco’s dramatic technique, especially in La Cantatrice Chauve, Les Chaises, and Le Roi se meurt, all of which, the critic considers, share a common element: “the indivisible mixture of tragedy and comedy.”

It is now almost twenty-five years since Eugène Ionesco first made his appearance in the French theatre with his explosive play La Cantatrice Chauve of 1950. Since that date Ionesco has built up a considerable “œuvre” of both one-act and longer plays. From almost complete obscurity he has now become established as one of the major contributors to the French theatre of the twentieth century and his fame has stretched far beyond the shores of France itself. In 1971 he was elected to the Académie...