Rhinoceros Play

Guide Note

The Rhinoceros Play is set in a little town square in a small provincial town in France, where all the townspeople one by one turn into rhinoceroses except for the main character, Berenger.

Eugene Ionesco's play Rhinoceros begins with the refined Jean having a drink with his alcoholic friend Berenger, meanwhile a rhinoceros runs past surprising everyone except Berenger, who admits to Jean that he has a crush on Daisy. Jean gives him advice about impressing her, while yet another rhinoceros runs past. The people comment on the destruction caused by the rhinoceros and argue about whether it is the same one that ran past earlier, while Berenger and Jean fight about the types of rhinoceros.

An argument erupts in Berenger's office about the rhinoceroses, meanwhile they find out a sick employee had turned into a rhinoceros. Later while visiting Jean in his apartment, Jean transforms into a rhinoceros while arguing with Berenger.

Berenger sits in his apartment terrified of becoming a rhinoceros, his co-worker Dudard stops by and they discuss the transformations. Dudard says that the head of their office Papillon transformed after being talked into it. Daisy stops by and during their discussion Dudard says he wants to transform and become part of the universal family. Dudard leaves and Daisy tells Berenger that she loves him, however she soon finds the rhinoceros attractive and breaks up with him. As the last member of humanity Berenger declares that he will fight the rhinoceroses.

Fast Facts

1. Written by Eugene Ionesco
2. Genre absurdist drama
3. First performed in 1959 in Paris
4. Published by Grove Press
5. A three act play
6. Set in a small town
7. Major themes are will and responsibility
8. Major motif is Bourgeois alienation
9. Rhinoceros represent humanity's capacity for savage violence
10. Originally written in French
11. Mr. Papillion sometimes played by a woman
12. A response to spread of communism, fascism, and Nazism
13. The play Orson's Shadow is based on the 1960 production directed by Orson Wells
14. Adapted into the musical Born Again

Quotations

1. "Good men make good rhinoceroses, unfortunately." — Berenger
2. "There are certain things which enter the minds of even people without one." — Jean
3. "Instead of squandering all your spare money on drink, isn't it better to buy a ticket for an interesting play? Do you know anything about the avant-garde theatre there's so much talk about? Have you seen Ionesco's plays?" — Jean