The Bald Soprano

Since 1957, it has been in permanent showing at the Théâtre de la Huchette, which received a Molière d'honneur for its performances.

It holds the world record for the play that has been staged continuously in the same theatre for the longest time.

By the 1960s, The Bald Soprano had already been recognized as a modern classic and an important seminal work in the Theatre of the Absurd.

Impressed by the contents of the dialogues, often very sober and strange, he decided to write an absurd play named L'anglais sans peine ("English without toil").

[5] Its actual title was the result of an error in rehearsal by actor Henri-Jacques Huet: the fire chief's monologue initially included a mention of "l'institutrice blonde" ("the blonde schoolteacher"), but Huet said "la cantatrice chauve", and Ionesco, who was present, decided to re-use the phrase.

As the fire chief turns to leave, he mentions "the bald soprano" in passing, which has a very unsettling effect on the others.

After the Fire Chief's exit, the play devolves into a series of complete non-sequiturs with no resemblance to normal conversation.

Then they shift back to reality where they realize that he has left behind two children and they are gossiping about whom his wife will remarry.

They are surprised to find that they are both from the city of Manchester, that they both took the same train to London, that they both traveled second class, that they both reside at No.

[7] Like many plays in the theatre of the absurd genre, the underlying theme of The Bald Soprano is not immediately apparent.

The script is charged with non sequiturs that give the impression that the characters are not even listening to each other in their frantic efforts to make their own voices heard.

Ionesco told Claude Bonnefoy [fr; ro] in an interview, "I wanted to give a meaning to the play by having it begin all over again with two characters.