ABSTRACT
Jean-Paul Sartre clearly had both a theoretical grasp and a practical understanding of the theater. In spite of Sartre’s very clearly articulated conception of theater, in the Introduction to Sartre on Theater, the editors baldly state that “Sartre’s attitude to the theater is perhaps more pragmatic than theoretical. Some of Sartre’s other plays, especially No Exit and Dirty Hands, are excellent illustrations of his concepts of theater because they separate the theater from life. In turn, No Exit is a perfect example of the unreality that, according to Sartre, is at the heart of all theater. Dirty Hands is an equally excellent example of the theater’s ability to go beyond the real. In the unreal world of the stage, Sartre's characters’ actions, language, and gesture function within specific imaginary settings to reveal the overall significance of the play, which allows him to engage the audience in problems that lie outside his philosophy.
