Though the term is
applied to a
wide range of plays, some characteristics coincide
in many
of the plays: broad comedy, often similar to vaudeville, mixed with horrific or tragic images; characters caught
in hopeless
situations forced to do repetitive or meaningless actions; dialogue full
of clichés, wordplay, and nonsense; plots that are cyclical or absurdly expansive; either a parody or dismissal
of realism and the concept
of the «well - made play».