Coastal Carolina University’s newest mainstage production, “Rhinoceros” focuses on finding comedy through moments of satire and absurdism, as different aspects of the show represent political ideals.
Set to premiere on April 17 and will run until April 26 in the Edwards Black Box Theatre, “Rhinoceros,” follows the life and reactions of Bérenger, portrayed by junior BFA acting major Blade
Bolton, as the people in his town slowly morph into rhinoceroses. This unusual event is a metaphor for the spread of fascism and the issues that can plague a small town.
Director Matthew Schneck said he decided to stick with many aspects of the original text, not straying too far from the original production by Eugène Ionesc.
“It’s an absurdist tragic comedy. I think it more leans into the comedy; it’s probably more of a dramedy. It’s absurdist in terms of what happens in the play,” Schneck said. “It’s basically in a small provincial French town and people in this town start turning into Rhinoceroses. It has a certain heightened level of physicality and emotionality to it.”
As the play progresses, the story delves deeper into the absurdism
aspects of the play with almost every character eventually becoming
a rhinoceros. According to the Merriam-Webster website absurdism is “a philosophy based on the belief that the universe is irrational and meaningless and that the search for order brings the individual into conflict with the universe.”
Trista Delany, a junior theater design and production major, handles the lighting for the show and said absurdism not only affects the story but also the way she goes about this work.
“Absurdism is a different art, like it’s crazy. It’s almost like fantastical,” Delany said. “My idea for this show was to be natural in the first act. I actually have to bring the outside natural resources, like the sun and stuff, into a black box. And then as the show progresses, we get more absurd and weirder lighting, like more starky, more dark.”
Ben Sota, the movement director for this production, described the impact of the actors transforming into rhinoceros.
“You have transformation from a human body to becoming
a rhinoceros on stage. It’s crazy to watch these actors do it. It’s
kind of painful. It’s like a spectacle,” Sota said. “So the body is really kind of the central focus. It’s really amazing watching that.” Bolton said he hopes people will understand the message of the show and see how Eugène Ionesc relate his stories to politics
throughout history.
“I want it to be a wake-up call. I think a lot of when this was written was supposed to be a critique on Nazi Germany when that was the most recent indicator of fascism that Eugène Ionesco had when he was writing it,” Bolton said. “I think we can see a lot of the beginnings of how that started in a lot of the government things that we can see in our modern day, not just with America, but in
other nations as well.”
