What is Martin Esslin best known for?
Martin Esslin is best known for coining the term "theatre of the absurd" in his 1961 book The Theatre of the Absurd. The book has been called "the most influential theatrical text of the 1960s."
Questions about Martin Esslin
Short answers, pulled from the story.
When and where was Martin Esslin born?
Martin Esslin was born Pereszlényi Gyula Márton in Budapest on the 6th of June 1918. He moved to Vienna with his family at a young age and later fled Austria after the Anschluss of 1938.
What did Martin Esslin do at the BBC?
Esslin joined the BBC in 1940 as a producer, script writer, and broadcaster. He headed BBC Radio Drama from 1963 to 1977, where he pursued his vision of a "national theatre of the air" and translated many foreign works into English.
Which playwrights did Martin Esslin include in the theatre of the absurd?
Esslin grouped Samuel Beckett, Arthur Adamov, Jean Genet, Harold Pinter, and Eugène Ionesco under the theatre of the absurd. Several of these playwrights, including Ionesco, objected to the label.
What academic positions did Martin Esslin hold after the BBC?
After leaving the BBC, Esslin held senior academic posts at Florida State University from 1969 to 1976 and at Stanford University from 1977 to 1988. He also joined the Magic Theatre in 1977 as the first resident dramaturg in American theatre.
Where is Martin Esslin's archive held?
Keble College, Oxford, maintains a special collection of more than 3,000 of Esslin's personal items, including his own works and books by other prominent dramatists. The student drama society at Keble is also named after him.