Exit the King: The Killer ; and, Macbett : Three Plays (Acting Edition S.)

by Eugene Ionesco, Charles Marowitz, and Donald Watson

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Book cover for Exit the King

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Exit the King is a highly stylized, ritualized death rite unfolding the final hours of the once-great king Berenger the First. As he dies, his kingdom also dies. His armies suffer defeat, the young emigrate, the seasons change overnight, and his kingdom's borders shrink to the outline of his throne. At last, as the curtain falls, the king himself dissolves into a gray mist.

The Killer is a study of pure evil. Berenger, a conscientious citizen, finds himself in a radiantly beautiful city marred only by the presence of a killer. Berenger's determination to find the murderer in the face of official indifference and his final defeat at the hands of an impersonal, pitiless cruelty speak with the universality of Kafka's The Trial.

Macbett, inspired by Shakespeare's play, is "a grotesque joke . . . [and] a very funny play. . . . Ionecso maliciously undermines sources and traditions, spoofing Shakespeare along with tragedy."--Mel Gussow, The New York Times

  • ISBN10 0802151108
  • ISBN13 9780802151100
  • Publish Date 13 January 1994 (first published 1 December 1964)
  • Publish Status Active
  • Publish Country US
  • Imprint Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press
  • Format Paperback
  • Pages 105
  • Language English