Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Why do you think Ionesco chose the rhinoceros for his allegory? Could the play have worked as effectively if people were turning into a different creature? Like a koala bear? Penguin? Praying mantis?
- Does Ionesco use the Logician to show logic as a positive force, or is the character there to mock the idea of logic in the first place?
- What is it about Berenger that makes him different from everybody else? Does he just not like rhinos because of those Berenger’s Bears? Oh wait, different story…
- How important is the time period of the play? If you set it in our times, would it still work?
- How does this play differ from traditional uses of literary realism?
- Do you think Berenger is right to cling to his humanity? Or should he have just gone and gotten horny with the others? (We warned you.)
- Is there something about Berenger that makes people leave him? Or should he be the one saying “it’s not me, it’s you”?
- Do you think Ionesco is suggesting that, in the end, those who stand up for what they believe in are always left on their own?
- If you were directing this play, how would you represent the rhinoceroses on stage? Puppets? Masks? Makeup? CGI? Real rhinoceroses?
- Think 2016 remake: is Berenger more a Brad Pitt or an Orlando Bloom? Or should he be CGI too?