This article seeks to launch an inquiry into the interplay between the philosophical concept of the absurd and different theories of ageing in Harold Pinter's radio play A Slight Ache. Due to the privileged position it occupies in the interstice of the two, A Slight Ache will be read as a surprisingly complex nexus of reflections on ageing, and some of the play's nuances and half-meanings will thereby be brought more vividly to light. A close reading drawing on theories of ageing will show that old age is a theme of paramount importance in A Slight Ache. Furthermore, I will claim that the combination of the absurd with ageing calls for a discussion on intersubjectivity, whose precariousness threatens to doom attempts at meaning-making to failure. Finally, I will briefly discuss resistance as a viable or at least ineluctable reaction to that state of affairs.
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