The Balcony

A wildly fantastical and ever relevant dramatic masterpiece that reinvented modern theater in the twentieth century.

In the midst of a war-ravished city, a brothel caters to the elaborate role-playing fantasies of men from all walks of life. A of the gas company employee pretends to be a bishop, another customer dons a judge's robe, and still another acts a victorious general, while a bank clerk defiles the Virgin Mary. These perverse costumed masquerades parody and stylize the nature of the anarchic political struggle that rages outside, eventually convincing even the revolutionaries that the illusions are preferable to reality. In a stunning series of macabre scenes, Genet presents his caustic view of man and society.

Deeply influential and widely acclaimed, Genet's play maintains a profound and critical reflection of contemporary society.