About the work
Improvisation, or The Shepherd's Chameleon is a one-act play by Eugène Ionesco from 1955, modelled on Molière's L'Impromptu de Versailles. It premiered on 16 February 1956 at the Studio of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, directed by Maurice Jacquemont.
Plot
In his study, the author Ionesco is visited by three critics named Bartholomeus, who lecture him in schoolmasterly tones on how theatre ought to be; their instructions escalate into farce until a cleaning woman puts an end to the dispute.
Cultural significance
In the three Bartholomeus figures, Ionesco caricatures real critics such as Roland Barthes and Bernard Dort and positions himself against Brecht's epic theatre; the play marks a turning point after which Ionesco turned to the darker material of Exit the King.