1. Title translations

2. Plot

3. Characters

4. Critical reception

5. Adaptations
    Audio  Film  Television  Theatre  Opera  Parodies 

6. References

7. External links

Title translations

English translations have also been performed under the titles In Camera, No Way Out, Vicious Circle, Behind Closed Doors, and Dead End.

Plot

Three damned souls, Joseph Garcin, Inès Serrano, and Estelle Rigault, are brought to the same room in Hell and locked inside by a mysterious valet. They had all expected torture devices to punish them for eternity, but instead find a plain room furnished in the style of the French 'Second Empire'. At first, none of them will admit the reason for their damnation: Joseph says that he was executed for being a pacifist, while Estelle insists that a mistake has been made; Inès, however, is the only one to demand that they all stop lying to themselves and confess to their moral crimes. She refuses to believe that they have all ended up in the room by accident and soon realizes that they have been placed together to make each other miserable; she deduces that they are to be one another's torturers.

Joseph suggests that they try to leave each other alone and to be silent, but Inès starts to sing about an execution and Estelle vainly wants to find a mirror to check on her appearance. Inès tries to seduce Estelle by offering to be her "mirror" by telling her everything she sees, but ends up frightening her instead. It is soon clear that Inès is attracted to Estelle, Estelle is attracted to Joseph, and Joseph is not attracted to either of the two women.

After arguing, they decide to confess to their crimes so they know what to expect from each other. Joseph cheated on and mistreated his wife; Inès seduced her cousin's wife while living with them; and Estelle had an affair and then killed the resulting child, prompting the child's father to commit suicide. Despite their revelations, they continue to get on each other's nerves. Joseph finally begins giving in to the lascivious Estelle's escalating attempts to seduce him, which drives Inès crazy. Joseph is constantly interrupted by his own guilt, however, and begs Estelle to tell him he is not a coward for attempting to flee his country during wartime. While she complies, Inès tells him that Estelle is just feigning attraction to him so that she can be with a man – any man.

This causes Joseph to abruptly attempt an escape. After his trying to open the door repeatedly, it inexplicably and suddenly opens, but he is unable to bring himself to leave, and the others remain as well. He says that he will not be saved until he can convince Inès to trust in him. She refuses, saying that he is obviously a coward, and promising to make him miserable forever. Joseph concludes that rather than torture devices or physical punishment, "hell is other people." Estelle tries to persevere in her seduction of Joseph, but he says that he cannot make love while Inès is watching. Estelle, infuriated, picks up a paper knife and repeatedly stabs Inès. As they are all already dead, this attack does nothing and Inès even halfheartedly stabs herself, beginning to laugh. As Estelle comments on the idea of their being trapped here forever and laughs too, all three join in a prolonged fit of laughter before Joseph finally concludes, "Eh bien, continuons..." ("Well then, let's get on with it...").

Characters

Joseph Garcin – His cowardice and callousness caused his young wife to die "of grief" after his execution. He is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and deserted during an unspecified military conflict. He was unfaithful to his wife – he even recalls, without any sympathy, bringing home another woman one night, and his wife bringing them their morning coffee after hearing their engagement all night. Initially, he hates Inès because she understands his weakness, and wants Estelle because he feels that if she treats him as a man he will become manly. However, by the end of the play he understands that because Inès understands the meaning of cowardice and wickedness, only absolution at her hands can redeem him (if indeed redemption is possible). In a later translation and adaptation of the play by American translator Paul Bowles, Joseph is renamed Vincent Cradeau.

Inès Serrano – Inès is the second character to enter the room. A lesbian postal clerk, she turned a wife against her husband, twisting the wife's perception of her spouse and the subsequent murder of the man (who is Inès' cousin). Indeed, Inès seems to be the only character who understands the power of opinion, manipulating Estelle's and Joseph's opinions of themselves and of each other throughout the play. She is honest about the evil deeds she, Joseph, and Estelle have done. She frankly acknowledges the fact that she is a cruel person.

Estelle Rigault – Estelle is a high-society woman, who married an older man for his money and had an affair with a younger man. To her, the affair is merely an insignificant fling, but her lover becomes emotionally attached to her and she bears him a child. She drowns the child by throwing it into the lake, which drives her lover to commit suicide. Throughout the play she tries to get at Joseph, seeking to define herself as a woman in relation to a man. Her sins are deceit and murder (which also motivated a suicide). She lusts over "manly men,” which Joseph himself strives to be.

Valet – The Valet enters the room with each character, but his only real dialogue is with Joseph. We learn little about him, except that his uncle is the head valet, and that he does not have any eyelids, which links to Joseph because Joseph’s eyelids are atrophied.

Critical reception

The play was widely praised when it was first performed. Upon its 1946 American premiere at the Biltmore Theatre, critic Stark Young described the play as "a phenomenon of the modern theatre – played all over the continent already", in The New Republic, and wrote that "It should be seen whether you like it or not."^[4]

Adaptations

Audio

• In 1946, the BBC broadcast a production with Alec Guinness as Garcin, Donald Pleasence as the Valet, Betty Ann Davies as Estelle and Beatrix Lehmann as Inez, all of whom starred in the first London stage production (see below). The translation was by Margery Gerbain and Joan Swinstead.
• Riverside Records released a 2-LP recording of the Paul Bowles translation in 1961 (RLP 7004/5) with Douglas Watson as Garcin/Cradeau, Nancy Wickwire as Inez and Betty Field as Estelle.
• In 1968, Caedmon Records released a 2-LP recording of the Paul Bowles translation directed by Howard Sackler (TRS 327), with Donald Pleasence as Garcin/Cradeau, Glenda Jackson as Inez and Anna Massey as Estelle.

Film

• Huis clos (1954), directed by Jacqueline Audry
• No Exit (1962), directed by Tad Danielewski
• No Exit (2006), directed by Etienne Kallos

Television

• No Exit (Play of the Week 1961), starring Dane Clark as Garcin, Colleen Dewhurst as Ines, and Diana Hyland as Estelle
• In Camera (BBC 1964), adapted for television and directed by Philip Saville, starring Harold Pinter as Garcin
• Vicious Circle (BBC 1985) starring Omar Sharif, Jeanne Moreau and Cherie Lunghi

Theatre

• The first Broadway stage production, using the Peter Bowles translation, ran for three weeks in 1946 at the Biltmore Theatre and starred Claude Dauphin as Garcin, Peter Kass as the Bellboy, Ruth Ford as Estelle and Annabella as Inez.^[5] The production was directed by John Huston.
• The first stage production in London was performed in 1946 under the title Vicious Circle at the Arts Theatre Club and starred Alec Guinness as Garcin, Donald Pleasence as the Valet, Betty Ann Davies as Estelle and Beatrix Lehmann as Inez.^[6] The production was directed by Peter Brook and the translation was by Margery Gerbain and Joan Swinstead.
• In 2018, after raising £5000 through Kickstarter^[7] a "Snowden" inspired adaptation premiered at Drill Hall in Edinburgh and the Fringe.

Opera

A one-act chamber opera based on the play was created by composer Andy Vores. The production had its world premiere on April 25, 2008 at the Boston Conservatory’s Zack Theatre.^[8] Vores' opera premiered in Chicago in October 2009 by Chicago Opera Vanguard.

Parodies

References

External links

• No Exit Script
• No Exit at Sparknotes.com
• {{IMDb title|0432894|In Camera}}
• No Exit at A.R.T. 2006 production of No Exit at the American Repertory Theater
• {{ibdb show|6571}}

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