Rhinoceros "Silly to scary in only 90 minutes" | American Conservatory Theater

In the opening moments of Ionesco’s masterpiece of absurdist satire, a rhinoceros rampages through a village square. At the local café, people argue over what they saw. Was it really a rhino, or just fake news? As the eccentric villagers shed refined façades for hides and horns—smashing windows and crushing flowerbeds—rumpled everyman Berenger faces a desperate choice: take a stand against the armored brutes or join the mindless herd? Hailed as “masterful . . . and downright hilarious,” this outrageous, comedic story of a civilized community shifting from defiance to compliance is chillingly resonant and riotously funny. From Tony Award–winning director Frank Galati (1776 at A.C.T.) comes an all-new adaptation of this wickedly entertaining comedy about power, conformism, and mass culture.