View source for No Exit

{{short description|1944 play by Jean-Paul Sartre}}
{{other uses|No Exit (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Hell is other people|other uses|Hell Is Other People (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox play | name= No Exit
| image = NoExit_cover.gif
| caption = Cover of the Vintage edition
| writer = [[Jean-Paul Sartre]]
| characters = {{ubl|Joseph Garcin|Inèz Serrano|Estelle Rigault|[[Valet]]}}
}}

'''''No Exit''''' ({{langx|fr|Huis clos|links=no}}, {{IPA|fr|ɥi klo|pron}}) is a 1944 [[existentialism|existentialist]] French play by [[Jean-Paul Sartre]]. The play was first performed at the [[Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier]] in May 1944.<ref>Wallace Fowlie, ''Dionysus in Paris'' (New York: Meridian Books, inc., 1960), page 173.</ref> The play centers on a depiction of the [[afterlife]] in which three deceased characters are punished by being locked into a room together for eternity. It is the source of Sartre's especially famous phrase "L'enfer, c'est les autres" or "Hell is [[other (philosophy)|other]] people", a reference to Sartre's ideas about the [[Being and Nothingness#Part 3, Chapter 1: The look|look]] and the perpetual [[ontology|ontological]] struggle of being caused to see oneself as an object from the view of another [[consciousness]].<ref name="Arthur Danto">{{cite book |last=Danto |first=Arthur |author-link=Arthur Danto |year=1975 |title=Jean-Paul Sartre |chapter=Chapter 4: Shame, or, The Problem of Other Minds}}</ref>

English translations have also been performed under the titles  '''''In Camera''''', '''''No Way Out''''', '''''Vicious Circle''''', '''''Behind Closed Doors''''', and '''''Dead End'''''. The original title, {{lang|fr|Huis clos}} ('closed door'), is the French equivalent of the legal term ''[[in camera]]'' (from Latin, 'in a chamber'), referring to a private discussion behind closed doors.

==Plot==
Three damned souls, Joseph Garcin, Inèz Serrano, and Estelle Rigault, are brought to the same room in Hell and locked inside by a mysterious valet. They had all expected torture devices to punish them for eternity, but instead, find a plain room furnished in [[Second Empire architecture|the style of the French "Second Empire"]]. At first, none of them will admit the reason for their damnation: Garcin says that he was executed for being an outspoken [[Pacifism|pacifist]], while Estelle insists that a mistake has been made; Inèz, however, is the only one to demand that they all stop lying to themselves and confess to their moral crimes. She refuses to believe that they have all ended up in the room by accident and soon realizes that they have been placed together to make each other miserable. She deduces that they are to be one another's torturers.

Garcin suggests that they try to leave each other alone and to be silent, but Inèz starts to sing about execution and Estelle vainly wants to find a mirror to check on her appearance. Inèz tries to seduce Estelle by offering to be her "mirror" by telling her everything she sees but ends up frightening her instead. It is soon clear that Inèz is attracted to Estelle, Estelle is attracted to Garcin, and Garcin is not attracted to either of the two women.

After arguing, they decide to confess to their crimes so they know what to expect from each other. Garcin cheated on and mistreated his wife, and was executed by [[Execution by firing squad|firing squad]] for [[desertion]]; Inèz is a manipulative [[Everyday sadism|sadist]] who seduced her cousin's wife, Florence, while living with them and convinced her to leave her husband—the cousin was later hit and killed by a [[tram]] and Florence asphyxiated herself and Inèz by [[Murder–suicide|flooding the room with gas]] while they slept—and Estelle had an affair and then [[Infanticide|killed the resulting child]], prompting the child's father to commit [[suicide]]. Despite their revelations, they continue to get on each other's nerves. Garcin finally begins giving in to the lascivious Estelle's escalating attempts to seduce him, which drives Inèz crazy. Garcin is constantly interrupted by his own guilt, however, and begs Estelle to tell him that he is not a coward for attempting to flee his country during wartime. While she complies, Inèz mockingly tells him that Estelle is just feigning attraction to him so that she can be with a man—any man.

This causes Garcin to abruptly attempt an escape. After he repeatedly tries to open the door, it suddenly and inexplicably opens, but he is unable to bring himself to leave. The others remain as well. He says that he will not be saved until he can convince Inèz that he is not cowardly. She refuses to be persuaded, observing that he is obviously a coward and promising to make him miserable forever. Garcin concludes that, rather than torture devices or physical punishment, "hell is other people." Estelle tries to persevere in her [[seduction]] of Garcin, but he says that he cannot make love while Inèz is watching. Estelle, infuriated, picks up a paper knife and repeatedly stabs Inèz. Inèz chides Estelle, saying that they are all already dead, and even furiously stabs herself to prove that point. As Estelle begins to laugh hysterically at the idea of them being dead and trapped together forever, the others join in a prolonged fit of laughter before Garcin finally concludes, "''Eh bien, continuons...''" ("Oh well, let's continue...").

==Characters==
'''Joseph Garcin''' – He is a journalist who lived in the barracks in Rio and died after refusing to fight in an unnamed war. His cowardice and callousness caused his young wife to die "of grief" after his execution. He was unfaithful to his wife – he even recalls, without any sympathy, bringing home another woman one night, and his wife bringing them their morning coffee after hearing their engagement all night. Initially, he hates Inèz because she understands his weakness, and wants Estelle because he feels that if she treats him as a man he will become manly. However, by the end of the play he understands that because Inèz understands the meaning of cowardice and wickedness, only absolution at her hands can redeem him (if indeed redemption is possible). In a later translation and adaptation of the play by American translator [[Paul Bowles]], Garcin is renamed Vincent Cradeau.

'''Inèz Serrano''' – Inèz is the second character to enter the room. A [[lesbian]] [[post office|postal clerk]], she turned a wife against her husband, twisting the wife's perception of her spouse and the subsequent death of the man who is also her cousin. Inèz seems to be the only character who understands the power of opinion, manipulating Estelle's and Garcin's opinions of themselves and of each other throughout the play. She is honest about the evil deeds she, Garcin, and Estelle have done. She frankly acknowledges the fact that she is a cruel person.

'''Estelle Rigault''' – Estelle is a high-society woman, who married an older man for his money and had an affair with a younger man. To her, the affair is merely an insignificant [[Casual dating|fling]], but her lover becomes emotionally attached to her and she bears him a child. She drowns the child by throwing it off the balcony of a hotel into the sea, which drives her lover to commit suicide. Throughout the play she tries to get at Garcin, seeking to define herself as a woman in relation to a man. Her sins are deceit and murder (which also motivated a suicide). She lusts over "manly men", which Garcin himself strives to be.

'''Valet''' – The Valet enters the room with each character, but his only real dialogue is with Garcin. We learn little about him, except that his uncle is the head valet, and that his eyelids are [[atrophy|atrophied]] because he does not blink.

==Critical reception==
The play was widely praised when it was first performed. Upon its 1946 American premiere at the [[Samuel J. Friedman Theatre|Biltmore Theatre]], critic [[Stark Young]] described the play as "a phenomenon of the modern theatre – played all over the continent already", in ''[[The New Republic]]'', and wrote that "It should be seen whether you like it or not."<ref>Young, Stark. (9 December 1946). "Weaknesses". ''The New Republic'',  pp. 764.</ref>

==Adaptations==

===Audio===
* In 1946, the BBC broadcast a production with [[Alec Guinness]] as Garcin, [[Donald Pleasence]] as the Valet, [[Betty Ann Davies]] as Estelle and [[Beatrix Lehmann]] as Inèz, all of whom starred in the first London stage production (see below). The translation was by Margery Gerbain and Joan Swinstead.
* Riverside Records released a 2-LP recording of the Paul Bowles translation in 1961 (RLP 7004/5) with [[Douglass Watson|Douglas Watson]] as Garcin/Cradeau, [[Nancy Wickwire]] as Inèz, [[Betty Field]] as Estelle and "[[George Spelvin]]" as the Boy.
* In 1964, [[Deutsche Grammophon]] released a 2-LP recording of ''Huis Clos'' in French (43 902/3, later 2761 002) with a preface by Sartre spoken by the author himself, with [[Michel Vitold]] as Garcin, Christiane Lenier as Ines, [[Gaby Sylvia]] as Estelle and [[R.J. Chauffard]] as The Boy. Vitold and Chauffaud reprised their roles as Garcin and The Boy the following year in another audio production, this time with [[Judith Magre]] as Ines and Evelyne Rey as Estelle.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/sartre-huis-clos-1965-auclair-magre-rey-chauffard |title=Sartre - Huis Clos - 1965 Auclair Magre Rey Chauffard |website=Internet Archive |access-date=21 August 2025}}</ref>
* In 1968, [[Caedmon Audio|Caedmon Records]] released a 2-LP recording of the Paul Bowles translation directed by [[Howard Sackler]] (TRS 327), with [[Donald Pleasence]] as Garcin/Cradeau, [[Glenda Jackson]] as Inèz, [[Anna Massey]] as Estelle and Thomas Kampinski as The Bellman.
* On 17 April 2021, the [[Comédie-Française]] broadcast a production of ''Huis Clos'' directed by Clément Gaubert, with Anna Cervinka as Inès, [[Thierry Hancisse]] as Garcin, Elsa Lepoivre as Estelle and Nicolas Verdier as The Boy.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.comedie-francaise.fr/fr/evenements/theatrealatable-huis-clos# |title=Comedie-Francaise - ''Huis Clos (Behind Closed Doors)'' (2021) |website=Comedie-francaise.fr |access-date=21 August 2025}}</ref>

=== Film ===
* ''[[Huis clos (1954 film)|Huis clos]]'' (1954), directed by [[Jacqueline Audry]]
* ''[[No Exit (1962 film)|No Exit]]'' (1962), directed by [[Tad Danielewski]]
* ''[[Closed Door (1962 film)|A Puerta Cerrada (Closed Door)]]'' (1962), [[Argentina|Argentine]] film directed by Pedro Escudero
* ''[[Gizli Oturum (2012 short film)|Gizli Oturum]]'' (2012), directed by Merve Hurriyet

===Television===
* In 1964, the BBC broadcast "[[The Wednesday Play#In Camera|In Camera]]" as part of its ''[[The Wednesday Play]]'' anthology series, a translation by Stuart Gilbert adapted for television and directed by [[Philip Saville]], with [[Harold Pinter]] as Garcin, [[Jane Arden (director)|Jane Arden]] as Inez, Catherine Woodville as Estelle and Jonathan Hansen as The Valet.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bufvc.ac.uk/screenplays/index.php/prog/2888|title = In Camera · British Universities Film & Video Council}}</ref>
* In 1985, the BBC broadcast "{{va|Vicious Circle}}", a translation by [[Frank Hauser (director)|Frank Hauser]] directed by [[Kenneth Ives]], with [[Omar Sharif]] as Garcin, [[Jeanne Moreau]] as Ines, [[Cherie Lunghi]] as Estelle and [[Nickolas Grace]] as the Waiter.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1985-04-28|title= ''Vicious Circle'' – BBC – Radio Times|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/6231e95fc84c4159be8f155be831d3b0}}</ref>
* [[Mike Schur]] has compared his show ''[[The Good Place]]'', which involves a demon trying to design a novel type of hell in which the inhabitants create one another's torments, to Sartre's play.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Good Place: The Podcast Chapter One|url=https://www.nbc.com/the-good-place/exclusives/tgp-podcast|date=June 1, 2018}}</ref>

===Theatre===
[[Image:No Exit, Jean Paul Sartre (Κεκλεισμένων των θυρών, Ζαν Πολ Σαρτρ).jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Kostas Triantafyllopoulos]] (Garcin), Smaragda Smyrnaiou (Inès), [[Giorgos Velentzas]] (Valet) and [[:el:Μαρία Πρωτόπαππα|Maria Protopappa]] (Estelle) in a 2002 stage production in [[Athens]], [[Greece]].]]
* The play first premiered in Paris, France 1944 at the [[Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier]], starring [[Gaby Sylvia]] as Estelle, [[Tania Balachova]] (who was the ex-wife of director [[Raymond Rouleau]]) as Inez and [[Michel Vitold]] as Garcin.<ref>{{Citation |title=Alain Laubreaux : Le Petit Parisien, 3 juin 1944 |date=2016-07-12 |url=http://books.openedition.org/pur/31150 |work=Sartre devant la presse d’Occupation : Le dossier critique des Mouches et Huis clos |pages=194–195 |editor-last=Galster |editor-first=Ingrid |series=Interférences |place=Rennes |publisher=Presses universitaires de Rennes |isbn=978-2-7535-4643-1 |access-date=2022-06-02}}</ref>
* The first Broadway stage production, using the Paul Bowles translation, ran for three weeks in 1946 at the Biltmore Theatre and starred [[Claude Dauphin (actor)|Claude Dauphin]] as Garcin, [[Peter Kass]] as the Bellboy, [[Ruth Ford (actress)|Ruth Ford]] as Estelle and [[Annabella (actress)|Annabella]] as Inèz.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/no-exit-1486|title=No Exit – Broadway Play – Original - IBDB|first=The Broadway|last=League|website=ibdb.com}}</ref> The production was directed by [[John Huston]].
* The first stage production in London was performed in 1946 under the title ''Vicious Circle'' at the Arts Theatre Club and starred [[Alec Guinness]] as Garcin, [[Donald Pleasence]] as the Valet, [[Betty Ann Davies]] as Estelle and [[Beatrix Lehmann]] as Inèz.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theatricalia.com/play/de8/vicious-circle/production/tk0|title=Production of Vicious Circle - Theatricalia|website=theatricalia.com}}</ref> The production was directed by [[Peter Brook]] and the translation was by Margery Gerbain and Joan Swinstead.
* A 1953 revival at the [[Ebony Showcase Theatre]] in Los Angeles featured [[James Edwards (actor)|James Edwards]], [[Maidie Norman]] and [[Juanita Moore]] and was directed by [[Roy Budd]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=All the World's a Stage|author=Lamarre, Hazel L.|date=October 8, 1953|work=Los Angeles Sentinel|page=B2|quote='NO EXIT'—Currently staging at Nick and Edna Stewart's Ebony Showcase is a MUST on the schedule of every discriminating theatre-goer. The two-act, two-scene fantasy by French writer Jean-Paul Sartre is brilliantly acted by James Edwards, Maidie Norman and Juanita Moore and masterfully directed by Roy Budd.|id={{ProQuest|562417035}}}}</ref>
* [[Robert Mandan]] starred in an [[off-Broadway]] revival in 1956 at Theatre East.<ref>{{Cite web |title=No Exit |url=http://www.iobdb.com/Production/4228 |access-date=2024-01-22 |website=www.iobdb.com}}</ref>
* In 1967, a production starring [[Raul Julia]] as Garcin/Cradeau played off-Broadway at the [[Bouwerie Lane Theatre]]. It played in [[Repertory theatre|repertory]] with ''The Little Private World of Arthur Fenwick'' by John A. Topa.<ref>{{Cite web |title=No Exit / The Little Private World of Arthur Fenwick |url=http://www.iobdb.com/Production/3353 |access-date=2024-01-22 |website=www.iobdb.com}}</ref>
* In 1977, "Sonate à Trois (No Exit)", a ballet based on ''Huis Clos'', choreographed by [[Maurice Béjart]] with music by [[Béla Bartók]],  was performed as part of ''Béjart: Ballet of the Twentieth Century'' at the [[Gershwin Theatre|Uris Theater]] in New York City.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Béjart: Ballet of the Twentieth Century|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/bjart-ballet-of-the-twentieth-century-522447 |access-date=2025-08-08 |website=Internet Broadway Database}}</ref>
* In 2018, after raising £4,558 through [[Kickstarter]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/noexitaplay/no-exit-performance?ref=project_share|title=No Exit - Performance|website=Kickstarter}}</ref> a "[[Edward Snowden|Snowden]]"-inspired adaptation premiered at [[Dalmeny Street drill hall|Drill Hall]] in [[Edinburgh]] and the [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe|Fringe]].

===Opera===
A one-act [[chamber opera]] based on the play was created by composer [[Andy Vores]]. The production had its world premiere on April 25, 2008, at the [[Boston Conservatory]]'s Zack Theatre.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thephoenix.com/Boston/Music/60534-SERAGLIO-BARBIERE-DI-SIVIGLIA-NO-EXIT-BART%C3%93K-AN/?page=2#TOPCONTENT|title=On (and off) track}}</ref> Vores' opera premiered in [[Chicago]] in October 2009 by [[Chicago Opera Vanguard]].

===Parodies===
''Talk Show from Hell'', a modern parody by [[Jean-Noel Fenwick]], was produced by the Open Fist Theatre in Los Angeles, California, in 2000.<ref>{{cite news|last=Foley|first=F. Kathleen|title=In the Lively Sartre Parody 'Talk Show,' Hell Isn't Half Bad|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-apr-14-ca-19357-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=April 14, 2000}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{sisterlinks|d=Q670637|q=Sartre#No_Exit_.281944.29|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|s=no|species=no|c=no|display=''No Exit''}}
* ''[http://vtheatre.net/script/doc/sartre.html No Exit Script]''
* ''[http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/noexit No Exit]'' at Sparknotes.com
* {{IMDb title|qid=Q129677596|id=tt0432894|title=In Camera}}
* ''[http://www.americanrepertorytheater.org/events/show/no-exit No Exit at A.R.T.]'' 2006 production of No Exit at the American Repertory Theater
* {{ibdb show|6571}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v96qw83tw4 See ''In Camera (Huis Clos)'' (1964) with Harold Pinter] on [[YouTube]]

{{Jean-Paul Sartre}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1944 plays]]
[[Category:Existentialist plays]]
[[Category:LGBTQ-related plays]]
[[Category:Plays by Jean-Paul Sartre]]
[[Category:Plays set in hell]]
[[Category:One-act plays]]
[[Category:French plays adapted into films]]
[[Category:Plays adapted into operas]]