Six Characters in Search of an Author

Pirandello's play Six Characters is now regarded as a brilliant work which says a lot about the relationship between an author and their writing as well as theatre as an art/business in general. Interestingly, at it's premiere performance, the audience did not seem to appreciate its meta-theatrical absurdism and and declared Pirandello's theatre to be a "madhouse!".* Upon later publication of the play and further viewing, it began to get noticed as something special and and its critical reception gradually improved. The fact that the characters in this play are putting on their own play about the 6 characters in the title creates a fictional peak into the way theatre is made as well as the way characters exist within an authors mind. The shocking climax, followed by the director's final lines about not knowing what was real and what wasn't perfectly echoes the intentions of the creative process whether in regards to a director, actors, or especially writers. This is a very personal play for many artists and Pirandello shows just how personal it is for him by inserting his own name as the author of the fictional play inside of his. For me, this is one of favorite plays after having read it, precisely because Pirandello captures the essence and struggle of creativity so well.

*Wikipedia.org