[Striking] similarities between the two ultimately very different existentialist theatres [of Gabriel Marcel and Jean-Paul Sartre] do exist. (p. 98)

Sartre has developed a popular theatre, treating his audiences partly as clients whom he must satisfy in order to use the dramatic form as a vehicle for his philosophy, sometimes watering down his philosophy to the detriment of his reputation as a philosopher. He has, even so, created a theatre which will stand even if one refuses his philosophy. Marcel, on the other hand, has insisted throughout his career that his philosophic writings and his theatre are inextricably intertwined, neither to be fully understood without the other. Marcel's philosophy has perhaps benefited, the play allowing him a form in which to situate and work out abstract ideas. His dramatic work has not…. [His theatre] has always had a limited audience …, [and] his thought has become more and more difficult...