Watching a play is like experiencing high society. Once you take a seat, you suddenly become critics, inspecting every detail. From the actors’ performances to the set design, audiences want to be drawn into the story. Is it believable enough to be enjoyable? Are the actors conveying the story well? Though these things are a huge part of the theater experience, sometimes we just want to watch good entertainment.
Sometimes, audiences just want to see sh*t hit the fan. They want to laugh and gasp as scenes unfold before them. These next plays will certainly bring a reaction just from the written word. From provocative to just plain ick, these obscure plays deserve a watch — or read, if you prefer to imagine the frenzy unfolding.
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
When I first read this, I couldn’t believe what was happening. Somehow, this Athenian tragedy manages to retain its shock value two thousand years later.
Oedipus, king of Thebes, is met with a curse that causes his kingdom to fall into ruin. To save the future of Thebes, Oedipus must solve a mystery involving the murder of the previous king, Laius. However, Oedipus wishes he didn’t learn the truth about the murder. He wishes that he’d stayed ignorant. Though the language is difficult to understand, readers can watch and read along with the 1957 movie, directed by Tyrone Guthrie. To help you better understand the play, you can find it on the Cult Classic Cinema YouTube channel.
Endgame by Samuel Beckett
Endgame: a chess term used when both players only have a few pieces left on the board — accurate title for the play. With only a few people left in a post-apocalyptic world, only four people reside in a room, living off their days doing the same thing to stay sane. While it may look like nothing but bickering happens between Master Hamm and servant Clov, you’ll be just as enthralled either way. Not knowing what the end for these characters will be, viewers will sit in contemplative silence, knowing all too well how a shred of hope is the only thing keeping these characters alive. The play was also turned into a movie by the same name and directed by Conor McPherson, which you can find on YouTube.
The Good Woman of Setzuan by Bertolt Brecht
Even the gods don’t have faith in the human race. The three gods of the play disguise themselves as travelers, searching the land for one exceptionally good person. They find Shen Te, a kind prostitute of whom the villagers of Setzuan take advantage. The gods deem her a good person, but Shen Te argues that she’s not; however, if she didn’t have money problems, she could be.
Granted money from the gods, Shen Te attempts to make an honest living for herself. But with entitled, greedy villagers asking so much of her, it’s impossible. This forces Shen Te to make a drastic change that does give her peace of mind but will cause her trouble later on. The comedy mostly stems from the gods for their inability to help Shen Te or fix the world’s problems. If you’re anything like me after watching, you’ll certainly shake your head at their foolishness and feel stressed for Shen Te’s predicament.
Desire Under the Elms by Eugene O’Neill
Trigger Warning: This book/play contains themes of incest and murder. Please take care and read with caution.
This is messy goes all the way back to 1924, where the original cast from Los Angeles got arrested for performing heinous themes such as incest and child murder. Of course, even now these themes are still massively frowned upon, as audiences witness a forbidden love story. If you get repulsed by a romance between siblings, then a relationship between stepmother and son will send goosebumps down into your soul.
The play follows Eben after his father abandoned him and his brothers. They all detest their father for this, and Eben’s brothers eagerly leave their farm in New England and head to California to seek fortune. Eben stays put at home. He wants the farm that rightfully belongs to his mother and him. With her death, the farm is the only thing he has of her, but with his father remarrying a young woman named Abbie, Eben becomes conflicted. Can he give in to his feelings for Abbie, his new stepmom, or fight her for the inheritance of the farm? There should be a right answer, but the infatuation between Eben and Abbie will complicate things.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams
Marriages can get complicated when love has run its course. For Maggie and Brick, their marriage is in shambles. They argue constantly, but Maggie doesn’t want a divorce; she wants to make it work. Neither is a good person to root for. Brick is an alcoholic, and Maddie is a jealous, insecure woman, who suspects everyone who might draw Brick’s attention away from her. Both hurt each other but are forced to deal with one another. The rest of the characters aren’t better, each sucking up to Big Daddy, a plantation millionaire who’ll choose his next heir. The play has a deeper plotline than surviving a birthday party. Insinuations arise as to why Brick is an alcoholic, making audiences feel sorry for him as a broken man.
Drama is what draws massive reactions from the audience. Though there is a deep message in these plays, they’re sitcoms and telenovelas are designed to bring the people in. And lo and behold, they indeed work, withstanding the test of time.
To learn about the creation of the most famous theater landmarks, click here to read The Fascinating History Of The Globe Theater!
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