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Absurdist classic to play at Union House

Aun Ngo

Tue May 26 2009

Rhino
_Rhinoceros_, playing at the Union House Theatre this month, promises to be funny, potent and serious all at the same time. Photo: Sheyan Wong

_Rhinoceros_, playing at the Union House Theatre this month, promises to be funny, potent and serious all at the same time. Photo: Sheyan Wong

THIS month, the University of Melbourne’s Union House Theatre is bringing Eugène Ionesco’s absurdist classic Rhinoceros to the stage.

The action is set in a glitzy yet squalid shopping mall populated by assorted gangs, employees and shoppers.

As the play progresses, the interactions between these inhabitants become increasingly bizarre, demonstrating the strangeness of reality and challenging what we see as “normal”.

Like most of Ionesco’s plays, Rhinoceros deals with the implications of social upheaval and an uncertain future.

Directed by Tom Gutteridge, what propels the plot in this particular production is the fear stemming from the current global crisis and the anxiety surrounding environmental disaster.

Mr Gutteridge described the play was all at once “incredibly funny, as well as potent and serious”.

Rhinoceros will run from May 21-23 and May 27-30 at the Union Theatre, Ground Floor, Union House, The University of Melbourne. Shows start at 8pm.
There will also be an 11am matinee on May 29.

Ticket pricing: $20 Adult/ $12 Concession/ Student Union Members $10
Bookings: www.union.unimelb.edu.au/tickets

Enquiries: (03) 8344 6964

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