The University of Idaho Theatre Arts Department is taking the iconic, existential drama “No Exit” to the stage on Thursday, Dec. 4, with six additional performances.
Students have access to experience this philosophical and classic theater for free at the Shoup Hall Pocket Playhouse, with other tickets ranging from $6-26. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here.
“No Exit,” originally written by French playwright Jean-Paul Sartre, traps both the characters and the audience in a room in Hell. Inside these unchanging, hopeless walls are two women and one man bound for eternity.
While confined with no windows, no mirrors and no exit, the characters are forced to reckon with a punishment that is not physical, but far more threatening.
Sartre’s work challenges the familiar concept of Hell, and the burning, painful imagery that most associate with it. He employs irony to emphasize the pain of psychological torment, and the impact of being confronted with one’s own sins. Instead of torture devices or demons, the suffering in this story derives from humiliation and the unbearable presence of other people.
The characters are forced to reflect upon the nature of their relationships, their previous transgressions and the darkness of their own souls and those around them. Their interactions spiral into cycles of manipulation, confession, accusation and denial, revealing their darkest truths while confined to four agonizing walls.
The famous and notable line, “Hell is other people,” captures the purpose and main ideas of this play. If one is looking for a thought-provoking piece that pushes people to draw comparisons to reality, this play is the one to see. It allows the audience to think about how much of the self is constructed by the perceptions of others and the implications of that sentiment.
Macy Gilbert can be reached at [email protected]