Luigi Pirandello
The Italian Nobel laureate who shattered theatrical illusion by making the audience question the boundary between art and reality. Six Characters in Search of an Author permanently altered how theater conceived of itself. His plays anticipate existentialism and the Theatre of the Absurd.
Works
- The Late Mattia PascalNovel of a man who fakes his death and assumes a new identity with unexpected consequences
- One, No One and One Hundred ThousandNovel exploring identity dissolution as a man becomes unrecognizable to himself and others
- The OutcastNovel depicting a woman's suffering after being rejected and cast out by her family
- Short Stories for a YearExtensive collection of daily short stories exploring human nature, love, and morality
- Her HusbandNovella exploring the tension between a wife's independence and her husband's authority
- Six Characters in Search of an AuthorPlay about fictional characters seeking their author and confronting theatrical reality
- Henry IVPlay depicting a man who believes he is a historical king trapped in theatrical delusion
- Right You Are (If You Think So)Play about a woman's mysterious identity and the uncertainty of truth and perception
- The Rules of the GamePlay exploring the rules governing human relationships and social interaction
- Tonight We ImprovisePlay featuring theatrical improvisation blurring the line between performance and reality
- Right You Are
- It Is So