Final answer:
The Theatre of the Absurd is characterized by plays with nonsensical dialogue and plotlines, aiming to reflect the meaninglessness of life, especially after the horrors of World War II. It challenges its audience to recognize and confront the existential despair and absurdity of the human condition in a world where traditional forms of communication have failed.
Step-by-step explanation:
The aesthetic movement that featured plays depicting life as disconnected, meaningless, and void of realism is known as the Theatre of the Absurd. The purpose of these plays was to confront the audience with the absurdity of life and the existential conundrums that define the human condition. Playwrights like Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco masterfully crafted works that moved away from traditional story arcs and logical dialogue, challenging viewers to confront a world where conventional communication had failed and left humanity grappling with a sense of insignificance.
These plays were particularly influenced by the horrific experiences of World War II, which shattered the notion that progress and understanding could stave off atrocity. The Theatre of the Absurd evolved in response to this disillusionment, using circular structures and often concluding with silence to signify the absence of change and meaning. Scenes from mundane bourgeois life and the entertainment world were turned into a critique on complacency and the societal failure to prevent war and destruction. Meanwhile, other modernist movements like Futurism glorified the industrial era, but the Theatre of the Absurd sought to expose the underlying void.