SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR

Luigi Pirandello was an italian dramatist, novelist, poet. He was awarded the Nobel prize in literature in 1934. SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR was first performed in 1921. His tragic farces are often seen as highlights in the world of the theater of the Absurd.



In this play, a director is rehearsing for a play with his actors and is rudely interrupted by six strangers. They claim to be looking for an author. The director and the six characters get enmeshed in an argument which seamlessly flows into a play which starts to get enacted in front of the troupe of the actors. This play within a play is a tragic drama full of heightened emotions.

It is relevant even today since it plays with the topics of incest, class difference, prostitution, failed marriages and innocence lost.

The highlight of the play is the writing itself which leaves you with different interpretations each time you listen to it.