Durang/Durang

Christopher Durang’s Durang/Durang is a vibrant, darkly comedic collection of five one-act plays that together serve as a biting satire of theatrical conventions, cultural tropes, and the absurdities of everyday life. First staged in 1994 at New York’s Manhattan Theatre Club, the collection displays Durang’s signature style—absurdist humor, rapid-fire dialogue, theatrical parody, and meta-theatrical playfulness—while exploring themes of identity, dysfunction, vanity, and the often bizarre nature of human relationships.

Each play in the collection draws from, mocks, or reimagines well-known dramatic styles or playwrights. Durang dissects the clichés of traditional theater and mainstream culture through heightened characters and improbable scenarios, exaggerating them to highlight their artificiality and moral contradictions. His tone is irreverent, often surreal, but always grounded in an incisive commentary on how we perceive ourselves and others through the lens of art and storytelling.

Thematically, the plays wrestle with issues of identity (both personal and cultural), failed communication, emotional repression, and the contradictions of modern life. Durang’s characters are often lost in their own heads or trapped in societal roles, and their journeys—while exaggerated for comic effect—mirror real emotional and existential dilemmas.