North Dakota State’s newfangled theatre ensemble’s most recent performance included “No Exit” by Jean-Paul Sartre. The theatre troupe took the stage Thursday to enliven Sartre’s play.
The play begins as former journalist Joseph Garcin, portrayed by Nick LeDoux, enters a plainly decorated room. He is accompanied by a valet, played by Ariel Walker, who leaves after supplying enigmatic answers to his various questions. He remarks the valet has no eyelids.
A television stands in one corner, alive but with no signal. Three upholstered chairs line the walls. There is one door and no windows.
The valet returns twice, accompanying first Ines Serrano, played by Allie Juve, a former postal clerk and unapologetic lesbian. The valet once again returns with Estelle Rigault, played by Mariah Spillers-Taylor, an orphan and former debutante.
Each of the three collapses into a chair. The valet closes and locks the door.
Immediately, it is apparent Garcin, Ines and Estelle have been condemned to Hell. They are perplexed at the absence of burning sulfur and torture devices. Estelle believes she has been sent to Hell by mistake, while Ines has accepted her unexpected punishment. Garcin appears indifferent.
In time, each of them describes his or her crime. Images appear on the television screen to illustrate their accounts. Beyond the stage, an ensemble portrays the friends, relatives, lovers and colleagues they left behind.
Garcin attempted to flee during an unspecified conflict and was executed. Estelle, who had married an elderly financier, pursued an affair with a younger man, which resulted in a pregnancy. She murdered the child as he watched, which drove him to suicide. She returned to her husband and succumbed to pneumonia some time later. Ines seduced her cousin’s wife after he was murdered.
Throughout the play, the three quarrel, forming tenuous alliances and attempting to seduce each other. While analyzing their situation, Garcin has an insight: “Hell is other people.” Each is condemned to spend eternity with the others.
“No Exit” premiered in 1944. Its French title, “Huis Clos,” translates to “in camera,” a term meaning, paradoxically, “in private.” Its playwright, Jean-Paul Sartre, was a noted philosopher, novelist, political theorist and critic. He is known for his work in existentialism, which argues humans are fundamentally free to find meaning and purpose in an absurd and impersonal universe.
Existentialism advocates authentic and passionate living, free from the confines of religion, social mores and cultural norms.
The newfangled ensemble’s adaptation of “No Exit” was directed by Joseph Brauer. The ensemble cast included Morgan Berg, Nini Crannell and Burleigh Holder.