An evening of absurdity presented by South Burlington High School Drama Club

Over the past couple of months, the students of the South Burlington High School (SBHS) Drama Club have been hard at work preparing an evening of absurdist theatre based on Franco-Romanian playwright Eugene Ionesco. Performances of “Ionesco Deconstructed” are Friday and Saturday, Feb 15 and 16, 7 p.m. at the South Burlington High School auditorium.

The evening will feature excerpts of three of the playwright’s works directed and adapted by South Burlington High School French teacher Karine Poulin. “The Bald Soprano,” one of Ionesco’s most famous pieces, is about two English couples and the ridiculous turn their conversation quickly takes. “The Lesson” is about a venerable professor whose visiting student’s lack of ability pushes him to his limits. And, finally, “Jack, or the Submission” is a less-than-conventional love story about a boy whose family is forcing him into marriage and his intended fiancée’s attempts to win him over. The three selections are woven together by a character who accidentally discovers Ionesco on Netflix.

The renowned playwright was born in Romania in 1909, but spent most of his life in Paris, where he wrote plays from 1931 until his death in 1994. Ionesco is considered a pioneer of modern Absurdist Theatre, characterized by plays that explore the meaningless of human existence with purposeless and confusing situations.

“Ionesco Deconstructed” is described as an evening of hilarity and tragedy. The South Burlington High School Drama Club notes that the production is not suited for young children. Tickets are available at www.sbschools.net/Domain/8 or at the door, $10 for adults and $6 for students and seniors.