No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre Translated by Stuart Gilbert

First cast Read through

Catalyst Arts Gallery, 5 College Court, Belfast, BT1 3BX

No Exit or Huis Clos was written by Jean-Paul Sartre and was first performed in Paris in 1944 just before it’s liberation. It stands as the finest example of his existentialist philosophy. It has been argued that in No Exit Sartre discusses the idea of creating one’s own future and the result of not having the power to control one’s future, therefore, one’s existence.

Each of the three main characters has a connection with the other and this beautiful play comes alive in the interplay between these three, as they look at themselves and each other for hope, salvation and torture.

The most famous line from the play and one that describes it perfectly, “Hell is...other people” is one of the great lines in 20th Century Theatre.