The UMass Department of Theater will present Eugene Ionesco’s 1959 play, “Rhinoceros,” May 1-9 in the Rand Theater.

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The play is set during a pleasant Sunday morning in a quiet provincial French town, when a drink between two friends is rudely interrupted by a rhinoceros barreling through. Clownish chaos ensues and how the villagers deal, or don't deal, with the pachydermal problem makes for comedy and commentary in this classic example of “theater of the absurd.”

While Ionesco wrote Rhinoceros in response to the rapid rise of fascism across World War II Europe, director Rose Schwietz Malla says the play resonates in today’s world, as well. 

“Like our own world, the world of Rhinoceros is funny and raucous and ridiculous,” Schwietz Malla says. “Inside of that lives this commentary on human behavior, mass movements, and herd mentality.”

“I think in our modern contemporary moment, a lot of what we encounter politically, socially, and environmentally, feels terrifying and dangerous and hilarious,” adds dramaturg David Keohane. “I think this play, in particular, leans more into the comedy and more into the clowns of the world.”

For performance dates and times and to order tickets, visit the Fine Arts Center website. Tickets will also be sold at the door prior to each performance.