Two Early Absurd Plays in England

Two Early Absurd Plays in England J. P. WEARING •• PINERO IS USUALLY REMEMBERED as the writer of a few Victorian farces and so-called "problem plays." Moreover, it is often thought that he wrote little, if anything, after 1910 or so, the notable exception being The Enchanted Cottage (1922) which was later filmed. And it is certainly true that Pinero's major work and contribution to English drama was made by 1910, but the remaining twenty-four years of his life were by no means inactive. He wrote a further sixteen plays, a: large proportion showing varying degrees of experimentation by the aging playwright. Two of these works are remarkable for the traits they exhibit of what is now widely called the Theatre of the Absurd. They are Playgoers and A Seat in the Park, one-act plays written in 1913 and 1922 respectively. The shift into the absurdist genre is not as radical as it might at first appear. Pinero's own brand of farce is essentially a first cousin to the drama of the absurd. In farces such as The Magistrate (1885), The Schoolmistress (1886) and Dandy Dick (1887) he has, as his central characters, people who consistently and blindly follow an inconsistent form of logic, regardless of how inherently stupid this might be if judged by accepted standards of behaviour. The frenzied behaviour of such characters is caused by their slavish adherence to the notion of maintaining respectability; they innocently allow themselves to be inveigled into doing something which jeopardises their social standing, and they subsequently try to prevent exposure and discovery of their behaviour. And yet at no time are they able to realise how they could halt the succession of "scrapes" in which they find themselves - only an acknowledgement and rejection of the initial foolishness and their desire for continued respectability could do that. Hence a magistrate is chased by the police and a cleric is arrested for apparently attempting to dope a racehorse. 259 260 J. P. WEARING Only legal gymnastics and trickery extricate them and limit their loss of respectability to a few intimates. In this way, social order and stability are preserved rather than set on end. But Pinero, unconsciously perhaps, did suggest the possibility of a disruption to the stability of the Victorians' world and pointed to an overconcern about respectability as being the catalyst for such a disruption. There are moments in these farces which suggest that with a shift of emphasis they could have taken a more purely absurdist direction. In Act II of The Schoolmistress, the occupants of Miss Dyott's school are trapped by fire and have to be rescued by the fire-brigade. Jaffray, a fireman, appears at the window: JAFFRAY. The staircase isn't just the thing for ladies and gentlemen at the present moment. I shall have to ask the ladies and gentlemen to use the Escape. ALL. [turning to the window]: The Escape! Where is it? JAFFRAY. It'll be here in two minutes. In the meantime, I think Mr. Goff could wile away the time very pleasantly with a reminiscence or two. Ladies, Mr. Goff THE GIRLS. Oh, take us away! Take us away! [Mallory, Saunders, and Reginald soothe the ladies; laffray goes to the window and looks out.] GOFF. [pleasantly seating himself and taking off his helmet]: Well, ladies, I don't know that I can tell you much to amuse you. However RANKLING . Be quiet, sir - we will not be entertained! JAFFRAY. [carrying a hose from the window to the door]: Really, gentlemen, I must say I've never heard Mr. Goff treated so hasty at any conflagration. [He carries the hose out.] RANKLING. A fireman full of anecdote! I decline to appreciate any reminiscence whatever. So do we all! REGINALD. Certainly! MALLORY. All of us! GOFF. It was in July '79, ladies - my wife had just brought my tea to the Chandos Street Station _1 A scene reminiscent of this incident occurs in Eugene lonesco's The Bald Soprano (1950). The Fire Chief intrudes on the discussion between the Smiths and the Martins, and at one point tells a tale! FIRE CHIEF. Well, then! [He coughs again in a...