A Stroll In The Air & Frenzy For Two, Or More

by Eugène Ionesco

A Stroll in the Frenzy for Two, or Eugene A Stroll in the Frenzy for Two, or Grove FIRST First Edition Thus, 2nd Printing. Not price-clipped. Published by Grove Press, 1965. Octavo. Paperback. Book is very good with light toning to the page ends. Seller 304074 Drama & Film

Genres: Plays, Drama

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Eugène Ionesco, born Eugen Ionescu, was a Romanian playwright and dramatist; one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd. Beyond ridiculing the most banal situations, Ionesco's plays depict in a tangible way the solitude and insignificance of human existence.

Excerpted from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Jack Rousseau · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A Stroll in the Air" may be, along with "The Bald Soprano", my favourite Ionesco. The plays presents Bérenger (a recurring character in the plays of Ionesco), a French writer who has traveled to England, where he encounters the same stupefying banality that is perpetuated by all of Ionesco's secondary characters (and many of his primary characters). Bérenger encounters a visitor from the Anti-World, and tries to inspire the English-men and -women and -children by demonstrating his ability to fly (with disastrous results)...

BÉRENGER (gaily, jumping up and down): I feel miserable when I think of the years going by like a lot of sacks we send back empty. I feel miserable when I think we're all going to leave one another and even take leave of ourselves. But hollow hours are made for sorrow. And today I'm filled with joy, overflowing with happiness. (BÉRENGER goes on jumping up and down while he says this and makes sweeping gestures with his arms, like wings.)
SECOND WOMAN: Destructive of what?
SECOND MAN: Destructive of everything.
JOHN BULL: It's an admirable piece of English construction.
JOURNALIST: It dates from the time of Mary Stuart.
JOSÉPHINE (using her lorgnette to cover her embarrassment): Mind what you're doing! They're looking at you.
The Enlgish characters have indeed turned around to face the public and they gaze at BÉRENGER, vaguely disapproving.
Don't get so excited! You get too carried away. Your excitability's much too Latin for their latitude. It's not nice. It's ridiculous.
JOURNALIST: But it had to be restored.
FIRST LADY: They don't make any like it nowadays.
BÉRENGER (hopping and jumping up and down): Forgive me, Josephine. I can't help it. Forgive me, ladies and gentlemen, I feel so gay I can't control it. I'm overflowing.
JOHN BULL: He feels so gay he can't control it.
FIRST MAN: He's overflowing.
BÉRENGER: I'm transported, carried away.
THE ENGLISHMEN: Transported!
THE ENGLISHWOMEN: Carried away!
FIRST WOMAN (to the LITTLE BOY): This gentleman's French, you see.
LITTLE GIRL: Why is that gentleman hopping up and down?
BÉRENGER: I'm overflowing, transported, carried away, lifted right off the ground. (Berenger's feet have indeed lifted a few inches from the ground.)
JOSÉPHINE: Don't talk so loud, Berenger.
BÉRENGER: The soles of my shoes are just brushing the top of the grass!
JOSÉPHINE: But what no earth do you think you're doing? Stop it!
BÉRENGER (to the English characters): Have you noticed anything?
FIRST MAN: He looks happy enough.
FIRST WOMAN: What's he doing?
JOURNALIST: He's walking very fast.
SECOND WOMAN: It looks as if he's gliding. Yes, he is gliding.
SECOND MAN: I think he's pretending to ski or to skate.
FIRST LADY: He's enjoying himself because it's Sunday.
SECOND LADY: We ought to enjoy ourselves on Sundays. But there's no need to caper about like a mad thing.
JOSÉPHINE: They say you must be mad.
LITTLE BOY: You'd almost think he'd grown. Grownups can grow too. (To his mother:) Do you still go on growing when you're grown up?
JOHN BULL: Perhaps. Perhaps he has grown an inch or two at the mot. In England, there's nothing very strange about that. (To JOSÉPHINE:) Don't let it worry you, Madame.
JOSÉPHINE: It's impossible. It's crazy.
JOURNALIST: It's hardly noticeable to us. We're usually very tall. Much taller than that.
SECOND MAN: He'll never be as tall as us.
FIRST MAN: Or, at any rate, not for long.
BÉRENGER has his feet on the ground again.
You see, he' just an average height again now.
BÉRENGER is again lifted from the ground.
MARTHE: Isn't it funny! Papa's walking above the grass. He's really walking over the top of the grass.
JOSÉPHINE: Oh, be quiet! You're mad. They'll start making fun of us.
The two children start hopping about.
FIRST WOMAN (to her son): Now, be a good boy! What do you think you're doing?
SECOND MAN (to his daughter): You mustn't hop about like this, that's no way to behave.
FIRST MAN: It's the terrible education they get at school. It's not like it used to be.
JOSÉPHINE: Now look here, Berenger, you're setting a very bad example.
MARTHE: But he is, yes he is, he's walking over the top of the grass.
JOSÉPHINE gazes at Berenger's feet with her lorgnette.
Look at the grass, and look at his feet!
JOSÉPHINE: But you're quite right. It's perfectly true. (To BÉRENGER:) It's not respectable, do you hear? What on earth do you think you're doing? Herbert, have you finished?
FIRST LADY: It's his way of showing he's happy. (To JOSÉPHINE:) Leave him alone, Madame, and let him enjoy himself.
JOHN BULL: There are a thousand ways of showing you're happy. But there's no need to show it at all.
SECNOD MAN: We'd rather be reserved.
JOURNALIST: It's one aspect of his personality. I'll make a note of that.
FIRST WOMAN: He's an artist.
FIRST LADY: I find it rather charming and original.
JOHN BULL: That is not my opinion.
FIRST MAN: After all, he is a guest.
JOSÉPHINE: Herbert! Herbert!
FIRST MAN: As he's a guest, let's say no more about it.
JOSÉPHINE: He's almost a foot about the ground! We'll be a laughing stock! You'll make us all look ridiculous.
JOHN BULL: I can't help thinking he's rather ill-bred.
The two OLD ENGLISH LADIES start hopping around like our feathered friends.
FIRST MAN: It's odd for someone from the Continent. He ought to have his feet on the ground.
SECOND MAN: Perhaps it's that disease they call St. Vitus's dance.
FIRST MAN (to the JOURNALIST): What do you make of it?
JOURNALIST: Modern man is quite unbalanced. As you can see in behaviour like this.
JOHN BULL (looking at the OLD LADIES): And as for them, they look like a lot of old hens. You see, it's infectious too.
FIRST WOMAN: I can't think how people can let themselves go like that and make an exhibition of themselves. (She starts hopping about like a bird too, and says to the LITTLE BOY who is not quite still:) That's enough! I tell you that's enough!
SECOND WOMAN: Neither can I. (She also begins to hope about.)
FIRST MAN: Our wives are light in the head.
SECOND MAN: They're unforgivably light on their feet.
The two Englishmen also start hopping about.
SECOND WOMAN (hopping about, to the LITTLE GIRL, who is now quite still): That's enough now! That's enough!
JOURNALIST: We ought to put these foreigners from the Continent in quarantine or at least vaccinate them before we let them in. (He too begins to hope about.)
JOHN BULL: That's what happens when you let your body get out of hand. It's very infectious. (He lumbers about with the others.)
BÉRENGER and his family are not the only ones who are not hopping about; the children and the others still go on with it for a few moments.
JOSÉPHINE (to BÉRENGER): Everyone says the same thing. They'll all think you've been badly brought up. (To MARTHE:) Whatever you do, don't you start.
MARTHE: Everyone's trying to do the same. But they can't. Papa's the most graceful.
JOSÉPHINE: They're only doing it out of politeness. (To BÉRENGER:) You look so badly brought up.
JOHN BULL (with a thick, rather singsong voice): No, no, you look so badly brought up.
BÉRENGER: I'll bring myself up a bit higher in a minute.
JOSÉPHINE: They'll attack you in the newspapers. You'll never get another English visa.
The other English character sing in chorus: "No, no, you've been so badly brought up." All movement ceases.
BÉRENGER: I feel uplifted and submerged by joy.
JOSÉPHINE (to MARTHE): What did he say?
MARTHE: Didn't you hear? He's been flooded. Uplifted and submerged by joy.
All the following passage is sung.
JOHN BULL: What did he say?
TWO LADIES: What did he say?
THE TWO ENGLISHMEN AND THE JOURNALIST: What did he say?
LITTLE GIRL (solo): He's been uplifted and submerged by joy. There's nothing wrong with that.
BÉRENGER leaps about, looking as though he was gliding through the water. End of the sung section.
[...]

[عبدالرحمن حافظ · Rating 3 out of 5]

من الرائع جدًا وضع هاتين المسرحيتين بالذات في كتاب واحد
أرى بينهما تقارب رغم أن المسرحيات العبثية لا قاعدة ثابتة فيها

[Yousseif Abdellatif · Rating 4 out of 5]

Straight up, A Stroll In The Air & Frenzy For Two, Or More is a book with a great first line and a decent everything else. Eugène Ionesco comes out swinging, then settles into a comfortable groove that never quite matches the opening. Still a solid ride. Recommend for readers who like a strong start, skip if you want consistency.

[Charlie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ionesco shows immense talent but an even greater desire to be absurd (maybe anachronistic term), but regardless, A Stroll in the Air has nuggets of delightful wisdom. And a lot of wig snatching. Almost... Camp? Idk.

[Mads Kamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars for 'A stroll in the air'

Full review in Danish 'Luftgængeren' at læsden.dk or 'læs den!' in your podcast-app. (From July 6th 2023)

[Jobie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A stroll in the air" Took me forever to read. I didn't get it or like it. It seemed to go on and on more conversation then action.

"Frenzy for Two" is Ionesco at its finest absurd frenzy. Though I would say it isn't very relatable it is also very universal. It is again one of those plays that make me wonder what Ionesco would comment about world events if still alive today. Yeah action moves forward in a sort of frenzy. It seems to start at a fever pitch and move even higher and faster as it's spins along. Mostly actions rounds two characters that are well thought out and then maybe a little two-dimensional. I would give this five stars.

[Giorgi Komakhidze · Rating 4 out of 5]

"BERENGE R : You are unhappy, but you don't know it. That's
what's wrong with mankind : we've forgotten how to
fly. What would you say if we'd forgotten how to swim
or walk or sit or stand? "

"JOSEPHINE : Fly us away, much further away, far on the
other side of Hell.
BERENGE R : I'm afraid I can't, my darlings. After that,
there's nothing.
JOSEPHIN E : What do you mean, nothing?
BERENGER : Nothing. After that, there's nothing, nothing
but abysmal space . . . abysmal space."

[Stephen Rowland · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A Stroll in the Air" is easily the strangest, most surreal play I've read by Ionesco. Honestly, it's a bit of a mess, it's too long, but the ending is nice and soul-crushing. "Frenzy for Two, or More" is not a major work, but amusing all the same. This book is harder to locate and afford than most other English translations of Ionesco but worth it for fervent admirers.