Language is meaningless. Miscommunication dominates discourse.

Eugene Inesco—prompted by his frustration with learning the English language—wrote “The Bald Soprano,” a piece of absurdist theater characterized by its use of ineffective communication and non sequiturs.

Courtesy of Grace Haselhorst

Thyrsus, Washington University’s theater group specializing in experimental and non-traditional theater, is taking on this absurdist piece for its spring show. The cast and crew have embraced absurdism and experimentalism on every layer in the production of the show.

The piece is framed as a dinner party where any sense of communication often goes awry.

“There are all these characters who are trying to communicate with one another and they’re just totally going over each other’s heads,” senior and dramaturge Liam Gibbs said. “So there’s a whole scene with a couple who don’t realize that they’re husband and wife for pages and pages and pages.”

Since the textual communication is nonsensical, the real meaning comes from subtext. For sophomore and director Madison Lee, this meant working with actors to unveil underlying meaning sub-textually throughout the show.

“We really dived down into what character is in using certain things they say—even though the words may not necessarily really make full sense—and then use that to really have an underlying emotion and subtext within each of the characters,” Lee said.

“The show is very honest, in that it makes people think about what small talk is and what we do from day to day and how ridiculous our daily existences are,” senior and actress Lily Grier said.

For the cast and crew, the absurdism of the piece and the freedom that comes along with it is the best part of the show. Their set design reflects this sentiment most clearly.

When you walk into the Black Box, you’re usually clearly stepping into a theater; but Thyrsus transformed it into a living room. There is no separation between stage and audience—it’s all just part of the production. Audience members will sit on the carpeted ground during the show.

“People will be sitting on the ground to be really part of the scene and feel like they’re invited into the living room,” Lee said. “I want to make this space completely immersive and completely transform the Black Box in a way that people haven’t seen and aren’t familiar with either.”

The set of the show suspends realism in a way that can best be described as zany.

“We have pictures frames hanging diagonally and teacups from the ceiling and it’s just an absolutely fun theatrical environment to work with,” Gibbs said.