A radical new version of a Theatre of the Absurd classic

This highly acclaimed production of “Rhinocéros” by Théâtre de la Ville-Paris comes to Japan after triumphant tours around the world. Director Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota is renowned for his brilliant reinterpretations of the European theatre canon. His dynamic, technically impressive staging pays tribute to Eugène Ionesco’s timeless allegory of totalitarianism, while also making it fresh for audiences in today’s globalized world. Gradually the inhabitants of a small provincial town in France start transforming into the eponymous animals in this comic but terrifying political play. How long can the individual resist the growing might of the collective?

Plot Summary
One day, the kindly drunkard Bérenger and his friend Jean witness a rhinoceros suddenly rampage into their village. While the rest of the village is in uproar over the arrival of the rhinos, Bérenger is unconcerned. The next day, Bérenger goes to his office at the local newspaper to find everyone arguing about the rhinos. Mrs. Bœuf arrives, chased by a rhino, who promptly destroys the stairwell of the office. Her husband also works at the newspaper but has not come to work today. In fact, the rhino is her husband and she promptly jumps down the stairwell to join him. As the reports of rhinos in the village increase, Bérenger heads to Jean’s house to make up with him. But Jean too soon transforms into a rhino, as do Jean’s neighbors. The village is gradually taken over by the animals, leaving Bérenger and his colleague Daisy alone in the face of the peculiar mass plague.

Saitama Arts Theater website