Beckett’s austere plays secretly remain true to the circus and stage magic

Evidence

In fact, the moment the curtain rises is one in which an apparition is expected. If Beckett’s plays, in the grey that remains after the setting of the sun or after the end of the world, hope to exorcise the bright colours of the circus, they nevertheless remain true to the circus to the extent that they occur on stage, and we know how much their antiheroes were inspired by clowns and slapstick films. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2721

Categorization

• SEED: Article angle: ‘The clown in the void’ — how avant-garde austerity secretly inherits populist traditions (Beckett’s debt to slapstick, Bunuel, Laurie Anderson).
• XREF: connects to: Beckett’s Endgame structures drama through parodic categories and musical form. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2240

Broader Connections

• Beckett’s Endgame structures drama through parodic categories and musical form. #expands (0.72) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2240