Six Characters in Search of an Author

“If only we could see in advance all the harm that can come from the good we think we are doing...”


One of the major figures of modern theater, Luigi Pirandello (1867–1936) wrote dramas and satires that sparked controversy with their radical departures from conventional theatrical techniques. 


His most celebrated work, Six Characters in Search of an Author, exemplifies the Nobel Prize-winning playwright's creations by presenting an open-ended drama on a stage without sets.


A tour-de-force exploring the many faces of reality, this cerebral comedy introduces six individuals to a stage where a company of actors has assembled for a rehearsal. 


These "real-life characters," all professing to be part of an extended family, produce a drama of sorts — punctuated by disagreements, interruptions, and arguments. 


In the end, they are released by the irate manager, their dilemma unsolved and the "truth" a matter of individual viewpoints.




LUIGI PIRANDELLO (1867 –1936) was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. His tragic farces are often seen as forerunners of the Theatre of the Absurd. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power to turn psychological analysis into good theatre." Pirandello's works include novels, hundreds of short stories, and 40 plays, some of which are written in his native Sicilian.