Theater of the Absurd: The Bald Soprano

Burbage Theatre Company is performing The Bald Soprano, a piece of absurdist theater by Eugene Ionesco. The performances are June 19 through the 28th.

The setting is the London suburbs. A stuffy upper-crust couple, the Smiths (David De Almo and Cassie De Almo), invite the Martins (Andrew Iacovelli and Lauren Odenwalder) to their home. The Martins talk about coincidence. Mary the Maid (Hollie Diorio) reveals that the Martins are not really who they say they are.

The couples swap nonsensical stories. The fire chief (Sam Mcvean) shows up and falls for Mary the Maid. The climax features the characters literally bouncing off the walls while spouting homilies, cliches, and non-sequiturs.
Ionesco was one of several European playwrights whose work expressed the belief that human existence has no meaning or purpose and therefore all communication breaks down. Logical construction and argument gives way to irrational and illogical speech and to its ultimate conclusion, silence.

Critic Martin Esslin characterized this type of storytelling as “theatre of the absurd” in a 1960 essay.

The Bald Soprano features broadly drawn characters, characters who are caught in hopeless situations forced to do repetitive or meaningless actions, as well as dialogue full of clichés, wordplay and nonsense.

Director Alex Duckworth maximized the talents of the performers and the 49-minute play goes by in a flash.

David De Almo gives a brilliant performance. He has a sharp sense of comic timing and is always amusing. The other cast members exude a lot of energy, especially during the closing scene.

The Bald Soprano is frequently funny, although it is not for everyone’s taste. Most theatergoers are likely to leave feeling more confused than entertained.

June 26, 27 and 28 at 8pm at the Artists Exchange, 50 Rolfe Square, Cranston. To reserve tickets, visit artists-exchange.org/ or call 401-490-9475. Tickets are $15 general and $12 for students and seniors.