STUDY GUIDE

for
A Live Cinematic Interpretation of Jean-Paul Sartre’s
NO EXIT

Translated by Paul Bowles

Conceived and Directed by Kim Collier

Nightwood Theatre presents The Virtual Stage and Electric Company Theatre Production
2009-2010 Season

This guide was written and researched by Darrah Teitel, Researcher for Nightwood Theatre,
August 2009.

For further information of this study guide please contact Rebecca Peirson either by email at
rebecca@nightwoodtheatre.net or by phone at (416) 944.1740 x8
www.nightwoodtheatre.net

This document may be used for educational purposes only.

 About This Study Guide

1) An Overview
• Story
• Characters
• Setting
• Nightwood Theatre
• This Production

2) Historical Context
• Existentialism
• Jean Paul Sartre
• Simone De Beauvoir
• WWII and France

3) No Exit and The Electric Company

• Collective Theatre
• Non-Traditional Staging
• Technology in Theatre
• The Valet

4) Themes
• Cowardice
• Hell
• Love

5) A Thought Exercise

6) Questions for the Class

Story
A young Valet is outside a closed chamber. He is on the phone with his uncle. After hanging up a man
named Vincent Cradeau arrives and the Valet shows him in to the chamber that is his hotel room. Soon we
realize that this hotel is Hell and that Cradeau is a damned soul. The room has no windows, no mirrors, only
one door and is decorated very badly with tacky 19th century furniture, but beyond that there seems to be
nothing particularly “hellish” about the room. Soon Cradeau is joined by Inez, and then another woman,
Estelle. Once everyone is settled the Valet locks the door and leaves the three damned souls alone
together. Everyone expected that Hell would be full of torture and pain and is surprised to discover that, in
spite of it being uncomfortably warm in the room, they are not to be physically punished in any way.
Eventually Inez understands that they have been stuck together in order to torture each other. And they do,
by probing each others’ past to reveal all their secrets and lies, they effectively destroy one another’s peace
of mind. As well, the three people simply irritate and enrage each other.

They decide it would be best to confess their true crimes to one another. It is revealed that Cradeau abused
his wife; Inez seduced her cousin's wife while living with them; and Estelle was unfaithful to her older
husband and ended up drowning the illegitimate baby she had with her younger lover. In the midst of this
story telling and revelation a love triangle forms between the three characters. Estelle tries desperately hard
to seduce Cradeau. Eventually she succeeds which infuriates Inez who desires Estelle. Meanwhile Cradeau
is obsessed with getting absolution and forgiveness from Inez. He needs her to tell him that he is not a
coward. Estelle forgets that they are all already dead and tries unsuccessfully to murder Inez with a letter
opener. Inez ultimately refuses to absolve Cradeau, which sends him into a rage where he beats upon the
locked door and demands to be let out. Mysteriously, the door opens. Nobody leaves. Shocked at the
absurdity of his fate, Cradeau concludes, "hell is other people."

Characters

Cradeau – A middle-aged French journalist. He is a coward, a womanizer and a misogynist. He deserted

the army during WWII and his wife committed suicide due to his deplorable treatment of her.

Inez – Inez is the second character to enter the room. She is a young lesbian postal clerk. She is a
manipulative woman who ends up murdering her own cousin in an effort to lay claim to his wife, with whom
she has fallen in love. She is the only character who is honest about the evil deeds she and Estelle have
done. She commonly acknowledges the fact that she is a cruel person.

Estelle – Estelle is the third person to enter the room. She appears to be a high-society woman who is
attractive and well-mannered but is in fact a poor orphan who married a wealthy older man in order to
secure his fortune. She has an affair with a much younger man who she treats with callous disdain, in spite
of the fact that he has fallen completely in love with her. When she conceives and bears her lover’s child
she drowns the baby, which causes her lover to commit suicide.

Valet – The Valet enters the room with each character. It is never made clear in the play whether the Valet's
job is his by choice, by birth, or as punishment. We do learn that his uncle is the head valet.

Setting
No Exit is an existentialist play and a philosophical drama. The action takes place in hell, which is
represented as an endless hotel with seemingly no world outside. The characters occupy a hot and stuffy
sitting room with a locked door. There is a bell to ring for servants, but often does not work. The room is
decorated in Second Empire style, the Napoleonic era. A heavy bronze statue, a bust of Napoleon
Bonaparte, sits on a mantle. It is too heavy to move. There are three sofas of different colors for the three
characters to sit on. There is also a paper knife next to the statue, but no books. There are also no mirrors
or windows. This tight setting forces the characters to constantly see each other, and thus engage in
torture.
Nightwood Theatre
As Canada’s national women’s theatre since 1979, Nightwood has launched the careers of countless
leading theatre artists in the county. We have won Canada’s highest literary and performing arts awards
and more than ever our success proves the need for theatre that gives voice to women and celebrates the
diversity of Canadian society. We remain actively engaged in mentoring young women and promoting
women’s place on the local, national and international stage.

Nightwood annually trains and mentors scores of young women creating the voices of tomorrow through our
free youth programs Busting Out!, Write from the Hip and the Emerging Actors.

No Exit Production 2009

Nightwood Theatre presents The Virtual Stage and Electric Company Theatre Production of a live cinematic
interpretation of Jean-Paul Sartre’s NO EXIT

Conceived and Directed by Kim Collier

Adapted from the French by Paul Bowles

Cast: Lucia Frangione, Laara Sadiq and Andy Thompson

Design Team: Jay Gower Taylor (Set Design), Kirsten McGhie (Costume Design), John Webber (Lighting
Design), Brian Linds (Sound Design), Andy Thompson (Video Design), Jennifer Stewart (Prop Design),
Bojan Bodruzic (Director of Photography)

Historical Context
Existentialism, a definition: A philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual
experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses
freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts.

Jean Paul Sartre and Existentialism

Born in Paris in 1905 to Jean-Baptiste Sartre, an officer in the French navy, and Anne-Marie Schweitzer,
Jean-Paul lost his father at the tender age of fifteen months. He attended the École Normale Supérieure in
Paris, one of the country's most prestigious schools, and graduated in 1929. While at ENS, Sartre met the
woman who was to become his lifelong companion - Simone de Beauvoir. It should be noted that Beauvoir
graduated first in her class and Sartre graduated second. He and Simone had a mutual arrangement and a
partnership that remained in place for years. However, they never married, for neither believed
philosophically in the institution of marriage. While at ENS Sartre met many students who would become
the most prominent philosophers of their era. He became deeply immersed in philosophy, and once out of
school moved to Berlin to study the works of Martin Heidegger and Edmund Husserl. He began frequenting
the Left Bank cafes of 1930s Paris, which were quickly becoming hives of intellectual activity, and fought
briefly in World War II. Once back in Paris after being released from a German prison, Sartre joined the
Resistance and wrote for the magazines Les Lettres Françaises and Combat. After the war, he founded Les
Temps Modernes, a monthly literary and political review. While teaching high school in the northern French
port city Le Havre, Sartre published “Nausea”, a novel that earned him his first surge of fame. “Sketch for a
Theory of Emotions” and “L'Imaginaire: The Psychology of Imagination” followed in 1939 and 1940,
respectively. By this point, the tenets of Sartre's existentialist philosophy were almost fully developed.
Nausea tells the story of a man named Antoine Roquentin who discovers how excessively abundant the
world is, and feels revulsion at this world and at his own body. Essentially, the novel argues that human life
has no purpose, that existence is all there is to it - the fundamental principle of existentialism. Sartre soon
made the acquaintance of Albert Camus, whose novel “L’etranger” (“The Stranger” or “The Outsider” in
English) became a touchstone of existentialist writing (though certain scholars place it in the "absurdist"
camp and argue that Camus was never really an existentialist).
Sartre's “Being and Nothingness” (1943), perhaps his most important work of philosophy, mapped out his
brand of existentialism, prioritizing existence over "essence" and arguing that life has no meaning beyond
the goals we as individuals choose for ourselves. The freedom of man in a godless universe induces
anxiety, and we all suffer from existential fear. Sartre recommends that human beings detach themselves
from the things around them in order to give those things meaning. In the end, it is up to humans
themselves to create meaning. We cannot search for it in notions of God, or in Kant's moral imperative. A
year after the publication of this seminal work, No Exit was performed in Paris, just prior to Paris's liberation.
It is important to note, however, that Sartre was far from a nihilist. Though his writings are often tinged with
despair, Sartre himself was a tireless advocate of social change and, in a sense, a great optimist. A firm
believer in human dignity, he remained a high school teacher for years and refused to wear a tie while on
the job. He detailed his concept of social responsibility in “Existentialism and Humanism” (1946), and
became deeply involved in leftist politics. Though never a member of the Communist Party, he expressed
admiration for the Soviet Union and split with Camus due partly to the latter's indictment of Stalinism. In
1956, however, things changed. As Soviet tanks entered Budapest, Sartre gave up hope for Communism
and turned his back on the U.S.S.R. In "Le Fantome de Staline", an article he wrote for Les Temps
Modernes, Sartre condemned the intervention, as well as the French Communist Party's submission to the
Soviets. “Critique of Dialectical Reason”, published in 1960, proposed what is now known as Sartrian
Socialism, a model by which Sartre demanded that Marxism recognize differences between one society and
another and respect human freedom. The Vietnam War provided another arena for Sartre's political
convictions. He actively opposed the war, just as he had opposed France's war in Algeria, and in 1967 he
headed the International War Crimes Tribunal, which had been established by Bertrand Russell to judge
American military conduct in Indochina. Sartre died in 1980 of edema of the lungs, leaving his last large
work, “L'idiot”, incomplete.

Simone De Beauvoir and Feminism

It is remiss to introduce Jean-Paul Sartre without including information about his life long partner. Simone
de Beauvoir was one of the most pre-eminent French existentialist philosophers and writers. Working
alongside other famous existentialists, Beauvoir produced a rich corpus of writings including works on
ethics, feminism, fiction, autobiography, and politics. In addition to her philosophical pursuits, Beauvoir was
also an accomplished literary figure and her novel. Her most famous and influential philosophical work, “The
Second Sex”, heralded a feminist revolution and remains to this day a central text in the investigation of
women’s oppression and liberation.

“The Second Sex” was so controversial that the Vatican put it (along with her novel, “The Mandarins”) on
the Index of prohibited books. At the time “The Second Sex” was written, very little serious philosophy on
women from a feminist perspective had been done. With the exception of a handful of books, systematic
treatments of the oppression of women both historically and in the modern age were almost unheard of.
Striking for the breadth of research and the profundity of its central insights, “The Second Sex” remains to
this day one of the foundational texts in philosophy, feminism, and women’s studies.

It is always interesting to look at Jean-Paul in the context of his relationship to Simone. The two
philosophers were famous not only for their philosophical, literary and political work together, but also for
their sexual exploits. Simone enjoyed sexual relationships with women as well as men and it has become
known that she and Sartre shared several lovers throughout their lives.

“No Exit” has a very cynical, almost hateful view of love. Cradeau is a wife abuser and the fact that Inez is
driven to murder is related to the fact that she is a lesbian. Beauvoir was often questioned in the media and
in interviews about Sartre’s relationship to women and how a seminal feminist writer, such as she, could be
involved with a man who is often accused of misogyny.
WWII and France
“No Exit” was written in 1944. WWII had been raging in Europe for more than 5 years and Paris was
invaded and occupied by Nazi troupes by 1940. Jean-Paul Sartre was drafted into the French Army and in
1940 was captured by the Germans and later set free. When he returned to Paris he immediately became
involved with the French Resistance. The German occupation of France in WWII was a result of the defeat
of the French and its Allies in The Battle of France. The French immediately signed an “Armistice” which
stated that the North and West of France would be occupied by the Nazi Army. The remaining third of the
country would be controlled by the French government located at Vichy. The Vichy government were allies
to The Germans.

Paris was not liberated until August 25 1944. So at the time that “No Exit” was written life in the city was
stagnant and difficult for its citizens. For those who opposed the Nazis, such as Sartre and his associates, it
was downright depressing.

No Exit and the Electric Company

The Electric Company is a unique and vital presence in the independent theatre scene of Vancouver. They
use collective process to create their plays and are always concerned with forms of non-traditional staging
and the creative use of technology.

Collective Theatre is a unique form of creating a play that comes from Canada. A collective works differently
from a traditional theatre structure. Instead of having a playwright, director, actors, designers and tech crew
all working independently on their portion of the production, a collective will erase the traditional hierarchical
relationships between these people and have everyone involved in the collaborative creation of the play.
Therefore most of the work is done together in rehearsals and the product is generally co-authored by
everyone who participated in the creation.

Q- Is No Exit a collective play according to the above definition? Why or why not? How does The Electric
Company change or contribute to the authorship of the original play by Sartre?

Non-Traditional Staging
In the theatre, a stage is any space used for the presentation of a play. However, historically there have
only been a few structures for the creation of a stage in relationship to an audience. A proscenium stage is
the most common structure where the audience sits in front of a picture frame stage and looks through the
frame to the world of the play. Thrust stages and Theatre In The Round are also traditional stage structures.
When The Electric Company talks about non-traditional staging they are sometimes speaking of created or
found spaces. A stage can be improvised where ever a suitable space can be found. Examples may include
staging a performance in a non traditional space such as a basement of a building, a side of a hill or in the
street. In a similar manner, a makeshift stage can be created by modifying an environment.

Q- Is No Exit an example of non-traditional staging? How does the use or lack of use of a stage change the
play for you?

Technology in Theatre
Historically, the theatre has always had a close relationship to the changing technology of it’s time.
Technological advancement (acoustics, lights, sound and special effects, to name a few) will always change
the nature of theatre. Since the invention of film, some people feel that theatre itself is an “old fashion” or
“historical” way of telling stories. The Electric Company claims to embrace technology in their plays. No Exit
uses a series of hidden cameras through which the audience sees the live action inside a chamber.
Director, Kim Collier says: “The Filmed version of the Hell they are enduring (or have just endured) speaks
to our experience of watching human suffering, removed emotionally and physically by the media that
stands for the real thing.”
Q- Describe The Electric Company’s No Exit’s relationship to technology and specifically film. How and why
is the experience different from seeing a play? How is different from seeing a movie?

The Valet
Kim Collier says in her “Director’s Vision Statement”: “In this version of No Exit, the Valet is given a greater
presence, inhabiting space that surrounds the room. We watch the Valet watching. His presence as an
omniscient viewer will give rise to a number of interesting explorations of the nature of spectatorship: Is the
film being made for him, or for another higher authority? What is the purpose of recording the character’s
suffering? His enjoyment? Does their suffering mean anything to him? And how do we as an audience fit in
to this cycle of watching, watcher and watched?”

Q- What did the presence and action of the Valet in No Exit accomplish for you?

Themes

Cowardice
Cradeau’s greatest fear is fear itself. That is to say, he is tormented by the idea that he may be a coward.
Ironically, in the play's beginning, he seems quite the opposite of a coward: he strolls into the drawing room
with his chin held high and casually asks where the torture instruments are, as if it were all a game.
Gradually, as the play wears on, he loses his defences; he is stripped bare, so to speak, and reveals his
insecurities. The question, however, remains: is Cradeau a coward? Was his attempt to flee to Mexico a
cowardly act? Sartre, who publicly opposed many a war, certainly might have sympathized with Cradeau's
pacifist leanings. However, we are left wondering to what extent Cradeau's political and moral convictions
mask a deeper weakness? And why, exactly, did Cradeau choose to flee rather than to expound on his
principles at home, where they might have made a difference?

Hell
Hell is many things in Sartre's play. It is the drawing room into which the three principal characters are
taken. It is the inability to sleep that will afflict them - the prospect of staying awake forever, tormented by
the sins of their pasts. It is a "hell of the mind," and it is, finally, "other people." In the various definitions of
hell Sartre and his characters propose, a pattern emerges: hell is intrinsically tied to existence and to one's
idea of oneself. The key element of "hell" in the play is therefore the absence of mirrors or reflective
surfaces. The characters must rely on each other to create their identities; thus Estelle asks Inez to
describe her beauty, while Inez begs Estelle to love her and Cradeau begs Inez to tell him he is no coward.
Though they claim at first to want to be alone, the characters need each other; the play is essentially a map
of their thwarted desires, of their inability to control their own image. It is this inability that paves the way for
the climactic paradox: when finally free to leave, Cradeau refuses to do so. It is because of Inez, he claims,
that he must stay. Unable to live with each other and unable to live without each other, the characters are
trapped not just physically, but emotionally and morally. Hell is both within them and outside of them, and
either way, there is no exit.

Love
Love engenders hatred in No Exit. Inez's unrequited feelings for Estelle lead her to viciously insult the girl;
Estelle's affection for Cradeau digs an even deeper hole into Inez; the resultant "love" triangle culminates in
Estelle's botched attempt to kill Inez. The rapid shift from love to murder is nothing new to Inez, whose love
for Florence drained any possibility of happiness or hope. "For six months I flamed away in her heart," Inez
remembers, "till there was nothing but a cinder." She adds: "One night [Florence] got up and turned on the
gas while I was asleep. Then she crept back into bed." Thus do the pangs of romance lead to death. Inez's
story is a three-corpse affair: Florence's husband, run over by a tram; Florence, driven to murder and
suicide; and Inez herself, the catalyst of it all. Estelle's story is likewise a tale of three deaths: her baby, her
lover, and herself. Cradeau is doomed, aside from his "cowardice" (if he is indeed a coward), by the love of
his wife, whom he treated without any love at all.
Thought Exercise
After seeing the play and before analyzing the content it is best to gauge your personal emotional response
to the story. Each student should therefore take a minute and answer the following questions about the
play. Their answers are private and can be offered during a discussion that might follow or can be kept to
themselves if they prefer.

Q- Which of the three four characters do you most relate to and why?
Q- Do you agree with Jean Paul Sartre’s proposal “hell is other people”? Why?
Q- What are the first words that come to your mind when close your eyes and think about the play you just
saw?

Questions for the Class

Q- Why doesn’t Cradeau leave the chamber when the door opens at the end of the play?
Q- How did the German occupation of Paris influence Jean Paul Sartre when he wrote No Exit in 1944?
Q- Existentialist literature is famous for employing metaphors as a literary device.

Explain the relationship between the following metaphors in No Exit:

a) The hotel room and Paris
b) The Valet and a Nazi Soldier
c) The room furnishing (or lack thereof) and torture devices.

Q- What is the role of self deception in the play? How might it relate to the historical context of the play?