THE RHINOCEROSES ARE AMONG US;
HERE COMES THE CRASH

A.R.T.’s chillingly funny absurdist
classic asks what happens when
everyone else joins the herd

Tatiana Maslany (Daisy) and John Turturro (Berenger) in performance for A.R.T.’s production of Rhinoceros

Since its 1959 debut, Eugène Ionesco’s famed Rhinoceros has likely felt chillingly topical to every generation that has encountered it. Writing about American Repertory Theater’s new production from that angle may seem redundant, but last night I felt its relevance in my bones; this morning, I’m still digesting it.

Diane Paulus directs A.R.T.’s new adaptation of Rhinoceros, which draws on Derek Prouse’s English translation as well as the original French text. The production does not shy away from that unnerving lens, while leaving us room to find its resonance for ourselves. In true absurdist fashion, the play begins in a world firmly grounded in the everyday: a small town with a grocery shop, a church, and a café where friends sit and talk. We recognize the flirtatious shopkeeper, the bored waiter, the self-absorbed housewife, and the predictable banter between old friends. There is just enough ordinary life to lull us into a kind of quaint comfort. Then a rhinoceros comes tearing through the town square. A few minutes later, another. (Stay with it, it’s an allegory!)

Alex Ross (Dudard), Tatiana Maslany (Daisy), and John Turturro (Berenger)

The lighting by Jen Schriever, sound design by Fitz Patton, and special effects by Markus Maurette come together eerily to create the rhinos without ever showing us one, a clever way to merge from reality to absurdism. Not seeing the creatures, but certainly feeling their presence, is all the more disturbing, leaving our imaginations to conjure their threat.

Some folks will probably spring for a ticket just to see John Turturro, Paul Giamatti, and Tatiana Maslany, and they will not be disappointed. As Bérenger, Jean, and Daisy, respectively, the three serve Ionesco’s shift into absurdism remarkably well. Several of their scenes are riveting, including one tour-de-force sequence better experienced than described, both for its impact and its surprise. As the play progresses, the town is overrun by rhinoceroses, with more and more citizens conforming, joining the herd, and becoming rhinos themselves. The stars may sell the tickets, but Ionesco gives patrons something to take home.

Paul Giamatti (Jean) and John Turturro (Berenger)

Two choices in this otherwise resonant production did not work for me. The first is the double casting of Peter Francis James as both the Grocer and Papillon. After the Grocer becomes the first person we know to have transformed into a rhinoceros, James reappears as Papillon, who is reacting to that very event. I understand the economy of the choice, and perhaps I’m missing some greater significance, but the doubling distracted me in a way the production’s other double casting did not. My other reservation involves a larger scenic element revealed near the end. The effect is striking, but it arrives only in the final minutes and could have benefited from more time onstage.

The rhinoceroses are not confined to Ionesco’s small town. We hear the boots of fascism marching through history and growing louder today. We see echoes in the threats of climate change and ICE, and feel the still-raw scars of the recent global pandemic. What are the rhinoceroses in your town, your country, or even among your friends and family? How will you respond? More than six decades after Ionesco wrote it, Rhinoceros remains a call to action not to go numb, but to stay human in the face of inhumanity, especially today.

John Turturro (Berenger)

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photos by Hawver and Hall

Rhinoceros
American Repertory Theater
Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle Street in Cambridge
Tue–Sun; performance times vary
ends on September 27, 2026
for tickets (from $45), call 617.547.8300 or visit A.R.T.

for more shows, visit Theatre in Boston

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