The Lesson

Synopsis

The Professor, a seemingly mild-mannered academic, welcomes an eager young Student into his study for a private tutoring session. As the lesson progresses, the Professor’s demeanour shifts dramatically from bumbling politeness to domineering aggression, while the once-confident pupil wilts under his increasingly nonsensical and oppressive teachings.

Ionesco’s absurdist masterpiece uses this simple premise to explore power dynamics, the corruption of knowledge, and the weaponisation of language. Through a series of linguistic gymnastics and logical fallacies, the playwright exposes how education can be twisted to confuse, control, and ultimately destroy. Ultimately, The Lesson is a chilling metaphor for the erosion of individual thought under totalitarian regimes, its dark humour barely masking a scathing critique of authoritarianism in all its forms.