Arthur Adamov (23 August 1908 – 15 March 1970) was a Russian playwright, and is widely condidered to be one of the foremost exponents of what Martin Esslin called 'The Theatre of the Absurd'.
Early life
Adamov (originally Adamian) was born in Kislovodsk in the Terek Oblast of the Russian Empire to a wealthy Armenian family. The title character of one of his best known works, Le Professeur Taranne (1953), is accused of various things (public nudity, littering, plagiarism), all of which he strenuously denies, only to have his denials turned against him into more evidence of misdemeanours. This particular play was directly influenced by a dream Adamov had.
Lesser known to the public is his prose work with short stories such as "Fin Août" (in Je... Ils..., 1969). Their themes revolve around topics including masochism, which the author regarded as "immunisation against death". Adamov translated a number of works by German authors (Rilke, Büchner) and Russian classics (Gogol, Chekhov) into French.
A supporter of left-wing politics throughout his life, the Algerian War radicalised his political views and in the 1960s he became a Communist. During his later years, he began to drink and use drugs which severely impacted his health.
Adamov's death in 1970 was due to an overdose of barbiturates.
Selected works
- L'Aveu (The Confession, 1946)
- La Parodie (The Parody, 1950)
- L'Invasion (The Invasion, 1950)
- La Grande et la Petite Manoeuvre (The Grand and Small Manoeuvre, 1950)
- Le Sens de la Marche (The Way to Go, 1953)
- Tous contre tous (All against all, 1953)
- Le Professeur Taranne (Professor Taranne, 1953)
- Le Ping-Pong (Ping Pong, 1955)
- Paolo Paoli (1957)
- Le Printemps '71 (Spring '71, 1960)
- La Politique des Restes (The Politics of Rubbish, 1963)
- Ici et Maintenant (Here and Now, 1964)
- Sainte Europe (Holy Europe, 1966)
- M. le Modéré (Mr. Moderate, 1968)
- Off Limits (1969)
- Si l'été revenait (If Summer Came Again, 1970)