de chairs (1952) is one of the lesser-known one-act plays by Ionesco, whose stage work in the Netherlands has undergone a modest revival since the corona outbreak: in the past year we also saw adaptations of The lesson, Rhinoceros and The king dies. In his plays, characters are confronted with the absurdity of existence in the face of impending death: good pandemic material, it turns out.
In The chairs we see an elderly couple, who, in anticipation of an imminent redemption, pass the time, busy fantasizing. In an ever-expanding imaginary gathering, they welcome a cartload of interested persons into their existence cut off from society. And then you quickly struggle with a shortage of chairs.
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Two lively thirty-somethings (Anne Fé de Boer and Linda Zijl) are hidden under weathered naked suits with hairy navels and accumulated belly fat (smooth costumes by Lisanne Bovée). Nice starting point: inside these ninety-plus people still have their youthful versions. Or the other way around: decay and old age are inescapably packed into these young people.
Bold physical approach
The young director Jessie L’Herminez (1990) opts for a daring physical approach, with funny physical play by De Boer and dryly comical facial expressions by Zijl. This outspoken, grotesque approach is designed in a stylish way, but also causes unnecessary blurring. The one-sided game registers tap into few layers of meaning, no matter how funny it is now and then. These characters are past the point where something touches them – the same goes for the viewer.
In the end, the audience is invited to the playing floor and the one hundred and eighty empty chairs form the decor. In this way we look out for the void we leave behind. The couple struggles their way through it: expectantly until the end and beyond.
Such beautiful visual inventions prove the potential of L’Herminez’s theater language, even if her first production at Toneelschuur Productions is not yet fully realized.