RHINOCEROS to Open at Catastrophic Theatre in Houston

The Catastrophic Theatre will present Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros, running September 18-October 10 at the Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston (MATCH).

Catastrophic co-artistic director Tamarie Cooper will return to direct the tragicomedy following the company's previous productions in 2003 and 2017. George Parker will reprise the role of Berenger from the 2017 production, while Kyle Sturdivant will return as Jean, a role he previously played in both 2003 and 2017.

Set in a small French town, Rhinoceros begins as the disheveled Berenger meets his fastidious friend Jean at a café. Their ordinary encounter is disrupted when a rhinoceros suddenly charges through the public square.

Soon, more rhinoceroses appear, and the source of the phenomenon becomes clear: the townspeople themselves are abandoning their humanity and transforming into members of an increasingly dominant herd. As their numbers grow, Berenger is confronted with the question of whether maintaining his individuality is worth the cost of standing alone.

Cooper said the play's examination of conformity and polarization contributed to the decision to revisit the work.

“It's not surprising that Rhinoceros is onstage now at American Repertory Theatre (ART) and was recently produced by Yale Repertory Theatre,” Cooper said. “Our world has become more and more polarized and dangerous and the question looms: as more and more people accept circumstances that once seemed inconceivable, how do we hold onto our humanity?”

Ionesco wrote Rhinoceros in part from his experience witnessing the rise of fascism in Romania surrounding World War II. As people around him embraced the fascist Iron Guard, the playwright became fascinated and disturbed by the speed with which ideologies could spread through a society.

“I have been very much struck by what one might call the current of opinion, by its rapid evolution, its power of contagion, which is that of a real epidemic,” Ionesco later wrote in his memoir Present Past, Past Present. “When people no longer share your opinions, when you can no longer make yourself understood by them, one has the impression of being confronted with monsters—rhinos, for example.”

Ionesco, alongside playwrights including Samuel Beckett, became one of the central figures associated with the Theatre of the Absurd. Rhinoceros became one of his most personal works, using absurdist comedy to examine both conformity and the isolation experienced by those who refuse to join the majority.

Joining Parker and Sturdivant in the Catastrophic Theatre cast are Noel Bowers, Karina Pal Montaño-Bowers, Sara Jo Dunstan, Jovan Jackson, Mara McGhee, Jenna Morris Miller, Rebecca Randall and Abraham Zapata.

The production team includes Ryan McGettigan as set designer, Ian Evans as lighting designer, Shawn St. John as sound designer, Macy Lyne as Costume Designer and Lauren Davis as properties designer.

Founded in 2007 by veteran theatre artists and Infernal Bridegroom Productions founders Jason Nodler and Cooper, The Catastrophic Theatre is a Houston-based avant-garde theatre company specializing in new and unconventional work. The company has produced 89 plays, including 45 original works. Together with predecessor Infernal Bridegroom Productions, the ensemble has produced 156 plays over 33 years.

Rhinoceros will run September 18-October 10, 2026 at MATCH, located at 3400 Main Street in Houston. Performances will take place Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.