Exit the King, The Killer, Macbett

Book excerpt: Three classic plays exploring the absurdity of death and modern complacency by the 20th century master of French avant-garde theatre. Exit the King presents a ritualized death rite unfolding the final hours of the once-great king Berenger the First. As he dies, so does his kingdom. His armies suffer defeat, the young emigrate, and his kingdom’s borders shrink to the outline of his throne. The Killer is a study of pure evil. B’renger, a conscientious citizen, finds himself in a radiantly beautiful city marred only by the presence of a serial killer. B’renger’s determination to find the murderer in the face of official indifference and his final defeat at the hands of impersonal cruelty speak with the power of Kafka’s The Trial. Macbett, inspired by Shakespeare’s MacBeth, is “a grotesque joke . . . [and] a very funny play. . . . Ionecso maliciously undermines sources and traditions, spoofing Shakespeare along with tragedy” (Mel Gussow, The New York Times).