THE LESSON by Eugene Ionesco

“THE LESSON”, Eugene Ionesco’s famous play holds the world record of performances, since it is on stage continuously since 16.02.1957 until today, at the Théâtre de la Huchette in Paris.

A timid Professor, a genuine exponent of the wooden educational process, under the anxious gaze of his faithful Servant, a symbolic representative of the sick society, delivers lessons in geography, arithmetic, and linguistics, to a non-binary (out of the bipolar male-female) person.

Through questions and answers that remind us of everything we have been taught, Ionesco sets up a Theatrical trap: as the lesson progresses, the Teacher leads the student into complete submission and the story escapes the realm of realism. Through harsh words and images, dressed in Ionesco’s sardonic, brilliant, and subversive humor, the characters are driven to total chaos, with the Professor becoming violent and eventually murdering his apprentice.

Translated / adapted and directed by Dimitris Komninos. Sets/costumes: Giorgos Lyntzeris. Music by Andreas Troussas. Photos: Manos Chrysovergis. Assistant director: Semeli Papaoikonomou. With Meleti Georgiadis, James Rodi, Marina Polymeris and Semelis Papaoikonomou.