Abstract: In The New Tenant by Ionesco, suicide is the very matter of the plot. In this theatre that emphasizes strangeness, suicide is never named but suggested by strictly orchestrated theatrical devices on stage. Its function is deeply transformed as compared to classical theatre in which suicide could enhance the final glory of the hero, or allow a way out of a tricky situation. On the contemporary stage, suicide acquires an ontological dimension as it is an exploration of one of the ways death manifests itself.
