The Chairs is absurdist, tragic farce at its finest. It depicts an Old Man and Old Woman who sit in their house, night after night, telling the same ritualistic story. In an unspecified post-apocalyptic world, they are cut off from the outside world and must rely on their memories and tales of what once was. We learn that the Old Man is to reveal his prophetic message to many invited guests that evening. However, the twist is that the “guests” are invisible” and we only hear the Old Man and Old Woman’s side of the conversations. One by one they arrive, from The Lady, to the Colonel, and culminating finally with the appearance of the invisible Emperor. More chairs are dragged out to accommodate the growing number of guests but frivolity and frenzy soon gives way to a sense of confusion and despair. Finally, the Orator arrives to convey the Old Man’s message to the room. Unlike the other guests, he is visible but he is also mute. Believing the situation to be safe in the hands of the Orator, the Old Man and Old Woman leap to their deaths through an open window, shouting “Long live the Emperor!” Left alone on stage, the Orator scribbles some random words on the blackboard and takes his leave.
Written just seven years after the end of World War Two, The Chairs is a tale of loneliness and futility in an ever-changed and unrecognizable world.
The Chairs guide sections
