29 October 2016
30 September 2016
The Letters of Samuel Beckett: Volume 4
Now available from Cambridge University Press
Read More at the Cambridge University Press website.
23 September 2016
Here All Night
ArtsEmerson, 5-9 October 2016
The prose and music of Samuel Beckett's writing find new life, and a fresh resonance, in this stunning new theatrical work for soprano, actor and chamber orchestra. Arriving from Ireland as part of a year-long celebration of the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising, Here All Night brings back the players of Gare St Lazare Ireland, who wowed Boston audiences with their productions of Waiting for Godot and Moby Dick at ArtsEmerson. The group is among the world's foremost interpreters of Beckett's work and this Boston Premiere an absolute must-see. Folk and high art weave together with exquisite results in the hands of actor Conor Lovett, composer Paul Clark, soprano Melanie Pappenheim, and Cleek Schrey as they create enchanting musical landscapes for the incomparable writing found in novels like Watt and The Unnamable and the short story “First Love.” [Read More]
20 September 2016
Samuel Beckett Salon at The Wallace Collection
14 October 2016
The Wallace Collection are hosting an event celebrating Samuel Beckett in response to his influence on the work of their current contemporary exhibition artist, Tom Ellis. The event is titled the ‘the Samuel Beckett Salon’ and will feature lectures regarding his work followed by a Beckett themed supper at the in-house restaurant. More about the event can be found here.
5 September 2016
International Beckett, ACLA 2017
A call for papers for a panel at the upcoming ACLA conference in Utrecht, July 2017
Neil Doshi and James McNaughton are putting together a panel entitled 'International Beckett' for next year's ACLA conference at Universiteit Utrecht, Netherlands. The seminar will comprise 8-12 participants, meeting for 2 hours on each of the conference's 3 days. You will present a 20 minute paper, and then have an opportunity to discuss your work with likeminded scholars and enthusiasts. [Read More]
19 April 2016
CFP: Samuel Beckett's Dystopias
Call for Papers
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| Billie Whitelaw as Winnie in Samuel Beckett's Happy Days |
Jacksonville, FL
4-6 November 2016
In Samuel Beckett’s literary landscapes, readers and viewers find dark, barren spaces, crippled characters, haunting voices, and an overall sense that there is “Nothing to be done” (Waiting for Godot). The hope that appears in the presence of a boy or a few leaves on a tree is soon negated by the shake of a head or the absence of a long awaited arrival. Beckett’s worlds are full of ashes and bones in which men and women are exiled and isolated; they are depleted, lonely spaces; they are dystopian spaces.
Abstracts of 250 words or less that explore Beckett’s stage plays, teleplays, prose fiction and poetry in relation to this topic are welcome.
Please send abstracts to Dr. Katherine Weiss at weisk01@etsu.edu by 1 June 2016.
22 March 2016
Samuel Beckett Society Announcement
On elections and panel proposals
Dear Members of the Beckett SocietyI have so far only received a handful of votes for the election to the executive board of the society. Can you please cast your vote by 8 April, so that the results can be announced at the 2nd Beckett Society conference in Antwerp next month. Further details are available on the relevant page of the recent Beckett Circle (‘Elections to the Executive Board of the Samuel Beckett Society’).
Also, I have yet to receive any panel proposals for the 2017 MLA Convention in Philadelphia. As an allied organization, the Society has one guaranteed panel at the convention and can sponsor a further panel (which will be evaluated by the MLA Committee). Unfortunately the deadline is imminent – we need to submit panels proposals by 1 April 2016. Furthermore, we are also asking for panel proposals for the 2017 SAMLA conference. Again, details are available in the most recent issue of the Beckett Circle (under ‘President’s Address’).
I look forward to hearing from you.
With best wishes
Mark
5 October 2015
Poughkeepsie Beckett Festival
Cunneen Hackett Arts Center, 16-25 October 2015
COCOON THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCESPOUGHKEEPSIE BECKETT FESTIVAL
CUNNEEN HACKETT ARTS CENTER
12 VASSAR STREET, POUGHKEEPSIE
OCTOBER 16-25 2015
Cocoon Theatre, the resident professional theatre company at Cunneen Hackett Arts Center, moved there from Rhinebeck to be closer to the diverse community of Poughkeepsie. With a mission to engage and serve the underserved of all ages through the performing arts, Cocoon has developed a compelling festival of programs to promote cultural literacy, connections and conversation.
MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
‘HAPPY DAYS’by Samuel Beckett
A drama in two acts, first produced in 1961 in New York
Starring Marguérite San Millán and Doug Woolley
Winnie, buried to her waist, follows her daily routine and prattles to her husband, Willie, who is largely hidden and taciturn. Her frequent refrain is “Oh this is a happy day.” Later, in Act II she is buried up to her neck, but continues to talk and remember happier days.
Director’s note The first time that I saw happy Days I thought Winnie chose to deceive herself.
How could she not see what was so palpably entrapping her?
Why would she make no effort to get out of her situation?
She chose rather to complain, play with her few possessions, and engage in endless conversations mostly with herself. If she is an illustration of our common human condition, then what are the mounds we are individually and collectively sinking into?
Fear, Callousness, Poverty, Ignorance?
Andrés San Millán
6 Public Performances: OCT 16-25 FRI & SAT 8 PM, SUN 3 PM
TKTS: $25
845-452-7870
www.cocoontheatre.org
SUNDAY SYMPOSIUMS (4:30 pm) FOLLOWING 3 PM MATINEES
Free and open to the public!
OCT 18 “Why Beckett? Why Now?”
Beckett’s work (Waiting for Godot, Endgame) is often, unfairly described as “difficult” or “inaccessible” or “depressing”. In fact, Beckett’s work speaks clearly and humorously to the human condition and is enjoying a revival in these days of social media, Twitter and snapchat.
Featuring:
- Dr. David Tucker, Oxford and Chester Universities, international expert on Staging Beckett
- Shona Tucker, MFA, Vassar College
- Dr. Miriam Felton-Dansky, Bard College
- Dr. Tommy Costello, Dutchess Community College
- Andrés San Millán, Marguerite San Millán, Doug Woolley
Featuring local high school and college students who have chosen an arts pathway. At this time when education seems to favor Science, Technology and Engineering, many pundits believe that we short-change the arts at our peril. A panel of students will address the challenges and joys of making the arts their primary focus and passport to success.
STUDENT MATINEEand TALK BACK
OCT 21, WED, 10 AM TKTS: $10
ART EXHIBIT ‘TRAPPED’
Featuring the work of local artists and student artists from Mill Street Loft and elsewhere, based on the theme of being trapped, shut in, constrained.
Cunneen Hackett Gallery.
Opening Reception Fri. Oct. 9 at 6 pm. Free.
Runs thru Oct. 25.
Information:
Andrés San Millán
845 452-7870
845 663-6273
andres@figureartscape.com Cocoon Theatre Creative Director www.cocoontheatre.org
1 August 2015
Beckett and Havel Double-Bill
28 July to 15 August 2015
Catastrophe by Samuel Beckett
CATASTROPHE sees a theatre director and his assistant arranging a protagonist, who stands on a square plinth, bare-footed, his head bowed - submitting to their direction. This Havel-like captive, silently wills the audience into an awareness of his predicament...
Private View by Václav Havel
Invited over for drinks by his friends, Ferdinand tries to enthuse over Michael and Vera's newly refurbished flat. But as the couple express the perfection of their marriage and lifestyle, the tone develops into a personal attack on him, his home, his wife and his work as a writer. As the abuse builds to a climax, he tries to leave...
Both plays are dark, tense and in parts cruelly funny.
Private View was first performed by Blue Rider Group as part of the RADA Festival, 2014.
Catastrophe, was written in 1982, and dedicated to Václav Havel, then a political prisoner in Czechoslovakia, serving a four and a half year sentence for ‘subversive activities’.
We believe this is the first time these plays have been presented as a double bill. [Read More]
31 July 2015
Samuel Beckett Featured on BBC's Artsnight
Available for UK residents to watch online
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| James Knowlson with Richard Wilson and the BBC Artsnight team at the University of Reading. |
About the show
For his edition of Artsnight, actor Richard Wilson, star not only of One Foot in the Grave but also Waiting for Godot, shares his love for a playwright recently described as 'probably the most influential artistic figure of our time' - Samuel Beckett.How does this highly experimental, avant-garde playwright speak to us today? Summer 2015 will see a peak of Beckett-mania with two festivals dedicated to this extraordinary writer. Richard Wilson explores some of Beckett's key works, including Godot and Krapp's Last Tape, which he performed last year to rave reviews.
He travels to Enniskillen, where his hero went to school, for the 2015 International Beckett Festival, and hears from fellow actors Ian McKellen, Juliet Stevenson and Hugo Weaving, as well as acclaimed director Robert Wilson. Lisa Dwan, who has made Beckett's notoriously difficult play Not I her signature piece, celebrates the playwright's love of the female voice. [Watch on BBC iPlayer]
Matt McFrederick on Artsnight
One of the real joys of the working on the Staging Beckett project has been the opportunity to meet and discuss Beckett’s theatre with the practitioners, who have contributed to the 60 year history we (the Staging Beckett team) have been uncovering. Believe it or not, on Monday 13th July another unique opportunity arose as I got to meet the renowned actor and director Richard Wilson, when he travelled to the Beckett Collection at the University of Reading.Richard was in Reading to interview the University’s Emeritus Professor and Beckett biographer James Knowlson, and view many of the original items stored in the archive concerning the performance history of Waiting for Godot. Their interview will form part of the next episode of BBC’s Artsnight – dedicated to Samuel Beckett – which will air on Friday 31st July at 11pm on BBC2. This programme will be presented by Richard and includes interviews with Jim as well as some of the foremost practitioners of Beckett’s drama including Hugo Weaving, Lisa Dwan and Juliet Stephenson, as well as a visit to the Happy Days Enniskillen Beckett Festival in Northern Ireland. [Read More over at Staging Beckett]
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