Rhinoceros Research

We are soon going to start reading Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco in class, so Mrs. Burke asked us to do some background research first. The play is about a drunk named Berenger, whose town becomes plagued by rhinos. Soon, everyone has been transformed into rhinos, and in the end, he vows to fight the rhinos. This play sounds crazy!!!! People transforming into rhinos?!?! I can see why they call it theatre of the absurd; this plot is certainly absurd. I wonder how they are able to act out these scenes because a play does not have the special effects that are available in movies. The author, Ionesco, was born in 1909 and died in 1994. He grew up in France, but moved to Romania in 1925, where he eventually met his wife. They had one daughter, and Ionesco often wrote stories for her. He wrote his first play in 1950, when he taught himself English. Ionesco's unique work is characterized by his rejection of the logical plot, character development, and thought of traditional drama. He created an anarchic form of comedy to show that man's existence is meaninglessness because everything happens by chance.
Sources:
http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc19.html
http://www.theatrehistory.com/misc/rhinoceros.html