From my understanding of the term, I don't think apostrophe is the right word you want- it's an address to the personification of an abstract concept or imaginary object, like Death or the dagger in Macbeth. So it wouldn't apply to a real person * .
In terms of plays directed at a main character who never appears, the closest I can think of is Jean Cocteau's "The Human Voice" which is a monologue piece- it's a telephone conversation; we never see or hear the man on the other end.
Personally, I would be more inclined to think of the character(s) who actually appear on the stage as the main characters, as they tend to get more development. The Ghost is as Characters as Device as they come.
Dramaturg, troper, theatre reviewer. (Please hire me.)
Fair enough. However, if the monologues were constructed in such a way as to reveal the development (or some specific development) of the "main character," would it then be possible for the absent character to be the main character?
I appreciate your input. Always nice to have something to investigate and dissect!
I'm sending this out to all the theatre buffs.
Can you think of a play/script where the main character is not physically on stage? There is nothing but audience monologue
and apostrophe to imply that the characters are speaking to the main character?