Ionesco worked on this play for forty years, under different titles, like “ The Plague”, “The Epidemic in the City” and “Triumph of Death”. The final title: “Jeux de Massacre” is the name of a game which used to be found in marketplaces and amusement parks. The purpose of the game is to hit and knock down moveable dolls. Most of the plays by Ionesco are built on his own ideas and material. However, the material for this play has been taken from the book “The Year of the Plague” (1722) by Daniel Defoe. The book is a well documented description of a plague epidemic in London, 1665.
