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Beckett's work is somewhat out of step with the logic of
commemoration and celebration. Festival, with its association with
celebration, spectacle, and publicity, would not seem the ideal
vehicle for Beckett's work. Yet that work has become highly
festivalised, and the incongruities between it and festival forms
provide a useful basis from which to examine both Beckett as
festivalised commodity and festivals themselves. Festivalising
Beckett in Ireland might be characterised as a way of bringing him
back home, as well as a way of returning him to the canonical fold
- he showed little interest in either during his later years, it
need hardly be added. This Element examines Beckett's dissidence in
the face of these imperatives of nation, home and the canon,
utilising Beckett's work in festival contexts to highlight in the
negative the nature of the festival form and to critique the
festivalisation of culture.
This is the first full-length study to focus on the staging of
Samuel Beckett's drama in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Beckett's
relationship with his native land was a complex one, but the
importance of his drama as a creative force both historically and
in contemporary practice in Ireland and Northern Ireland cannot be
underestimated. Drawing on previously unpublished archival
materials and re-examining familiar narratives, this volume traces
the history of Beckett's drama at Dublin's Abbey and Gate Theatres
as well as bringing to light unexamined and little-known
productions such as those performed in the Irish language, Druid
Theatre Company's productions, and those of Dublin's Focus Theatre.
Leading scholars in Beckett studies and in Irish drama, including
Anna McMullan and Anthony Roche, and renowned interpreters of
Beckett's dramatic work such as Barry McGovern, explore Beckett's
drama within the context of Irish creative theatrical practice and
heritage, and analyse its legacies. As with its companion volume,
Staging Beckett in Great Britain, production analyses are
underpinned by a consideration of the political, economic and
cultural contexts. Readers are invited to experience Beckett's
drama as resonating in new ways, through theatre practice, against
the complex and connected histories of Ireland, north and south.
Beckett's relationship with British theatre is complex and
underexplored, yet his impact has been immense. Uniquely placing
performance history at the centre of its analysis, this volume
examines Samuel Beckett's drama as it has been staged in Great
Britain, bringing to light a wide range of untold histories and in
turn illuminating six decades of drama in Britain. Ranging from
studies of the first English tour of Waiting for Godot in 1955 to
Talawa's 2012 all-black co-production of the same play, Staging
Samuel Beckett in Great Britain excavates a host of archival
resources in order to historicize how Beckett's drama has
interacted with specific theatres, directors and theatre cultures
in the UK. It traces production histories of plays such as Krapp's
Last Tape; presents Beckett's working relationships with the Royal
Court, Riverside and West Yorkshire Playhouse, as well as with
directors such as Peter Hall; looks at the history of Beckett's
drama in Scotland and how the plays have been staged in London's
West End. Production analyses are mapped onto political, economic
and cultural contexts of Great Britain so that Beckett's drama
resonates in new ways, through theatre practice, against the
complex contexts of Great Britain's regions. With contributions
from experts in the fields of both Beckett studies and UK drama,
including S.E. Gontarski, David Pattie, Mark Taylor-Batty and Sos
Eltis, the volume offers an exceptional and unique understanding of
Beckett's reception on the UK stage and the impact of his drama
within UK theatre practices. Together with its sister volume,
Staging Samuel Beckett in Ireland and Northern Ireland it will
prove a terrific resource for students, scholars and theatre
practitioners.
This is the first full-length study to focus on Samuel Beckett's
drama as it has been staged in Ireland and Northern Ireland. While
Beckett's relationship with his native land was a complex one, the
importance of his drama as a creative force both historically and
in contemporary practice in those regions cannot be underestimated.
The volume brings to light unexamined and little-known productions,
for example Beckett's drama in the Irish language, Druid Theatre
Company's productions, and Beckett at Dublin's Focus Theatre, as
well as previously unpublished archival materials. Leading
scholars, such as Anna McMullan and Anthony Roche, and renowned
dramatic interpreters of Beckett's work, such as Barry McGovern,
explore Beckett's drama within the context of Irish creative
theatrical practice and heritage, and point towards the theatrical
and performance legacies that follow in its wake. Production
analyses are mapped on to the political, economic and cultural
contexts of Ireland and the North so that readers are invited to
experience Beckett's drama as resonating in new ways, through
theatre practice, against the complex and connected histories of
these lands.
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