ABSURD4
Two Actors. Twelve Characters. Four Absurdist Plays.

Venue: Double Teaching Space, Drama Classroom, Studio, Theatre, Hall

A Clown-Fuelled Crash Course in Absurdism for Secondary Students.

Presented by Claude and Tina, internationally acclaimed from The United Kingdom Theatre For The Absurd Academy, ABSURD4 is a high-octane theatrical lecture-performance. This bold adaptation brings four seminal absurdist plays to life through physical comedy, improvisation, and contemporary clowning.

Featured Adaptations

• Waiting for Godot – Samuel Beckett
• The Dumb Waiter – Harold Pinter
• The Chairs – Eugène Ionesco
• Rhinoceros – Eugène Ionesco

Twelve characters. Two actors. One hilarious and thought-provoking hour.

LEARNING AREAS

The Arts – Drama

Years 7–10 | Strands:

• Exploring and Responding:
  Students analyse how dramatic meaning is created through form, style, and convention, with a focus on Absurdism and Physical Theatre.
  (ACADRR046 | ACADRR051)
• Developing Practices and Ideas:
  Students explore how roles and relationships are expressed through dramatic action and how contemporary theatre styles like clowning and improvisation can reinterpret classic texts.
  (ACADRM043 | ACADRM049)
• Creating and Performing:
  Students are encouraged to devise and perform their own absurdist scenes using improvisation, transformation, and ensemble work.
  (ACADRM041 | ACADRM047)

English

Years 7–10 | Strands:

• Language for Interaction:
  Students explore tone, irony, and ambiguity in dialogue and subtext, as used in Absurdist scripts.
  (ACELA1764 | ACELA1564)
• Literature – Responding to Literature:
  Analyse and reflect on how characterisation, structure, and context shape meaning. Students explore the post-war influences on Absurdist texts and the use of satire and repetition.
  (ACELT1620 | ACELT1633)
• Literacy – Interacting with Others:
  Presenting and responding to live theatre in ways that foster empathy, reflection, and critical thinking.
  (ACELY1741 | ACELY1811)

Humanities and Social Sciences (History)

Years 9–10 | Depth Studies:

• World War II and its Aftermath:
  Students investigate how historical events shaped cultural responses, including the emergence of Absurdist Theatre as a reaction to war, genocide, and existential despair.
  (ACDSEH107 | ACDSEH108)
• Rights and Freedoms in the 20th Century:
  Examines the individual’s response to systems of control, conformity, and absurdity – core themes in Rhinocerosand The Dumb Waiter.
  (ACDSEH104)
• Popular Culture:
  Analyses how theatre and performance responded to and shaped post-war identity, alienation, and absurdity.
  (ACDSEH121)

STYLE & FORM

• Absurdism – Disrupts logic, plot, and language to explore existential themes.
• Contemporary Clowning – Engages the audience with mischief and truth-telling.
• Physical Theatre & Comedy – Uses movement, transformation, and visual exaggeration.
• Improvisation – Spontaneous discovery, audience interaction, and thematic chaos.

THEMES & CONTEXTS

• Creativity and Imagination – Redefining how we see theatre, logic, and the world.
• Roles and Relationships – Between characters, performer and audience, order and chaos.
• Transformation – Of character, meaning, identity, and worldviews.
• Play and Risk – Theatre as experimentation, reflection, and provocation.
• Audience Engagement – Blending education with performance for immersive learning.

ABSURD4 is ideal for secondary students studying Drama, English Literature, or 20th Century History. A brilliant springboard for classroom discussion, devising tasks, and reflective writing.

Devised by: Clint Bolster and Lauren O’Rourke.
Directed by: Clint Bolster