Jean Genet's The Balcony (1956), influenced by the Theater of Cruelty (the theater philosophy of Antonin Artaud) takes place in a contemporary European city in the midst of a revolution. The protagonists of the play recreate a world of illusion, which they convince the revolutionaries is better than reality.

Eugene lonesco's The Bald Soprano (1950), called an "antiplay," by the author, is an important example of the Theater of the Absurd. It consists mainly of a series of meaningless conversation between two couples.

Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Wool/?, also made into a popular movie, remains the author's most well-known work. It centers on two married couples who reveal their secrets in one, long evening. By the end of the play, the middle-aged couple decides to face realities and stop living in their fantasy world.

Suddenly Last Summer (1958) is a two-act play...