Eugene Ionesco did not write his first play until, at the age of 40, he adapted a play from an English primer that he had acquired in order to learn English. The Bald Soprano, staged by Nicolas Bataille on May 11, 1950, went unnoticed until a few established writers and critics launched a campaign to bring attention to Ionesco's play. They were successful in their efforts, and the middle-aged Ionesco soon found himself in a position of international renown. He would go on to write more than twenty plays including Rhinoceros, The Chairs, Jack or The Submission, The Lesson, The Killer, Exit the King, Macbett, and Journeys Among the Dead.