On Beckett/In Screen

Craig Byrd — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 22:11:50 +0000

Last fall Tony Award-winning actor Bill Irwin (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) brought his show On Beckett to the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles. It’s an amazing show that combines the writing on Samuel Beckett with Irwin’s impeccable ability to be a clown. His new show, which places that combination in the COVID era, begins streaming tonight from New York’s Irish Repertory Theatre. The show is called On Beckett/In Screen.

Samuel Beckett is the poet and playwright best known for Krapp’s Last Tape and Waiting for Godot. Irwin, in addition to his award-winning performance in Edward Albee’s classic play, has appeared on Broadway in Full Moon and The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia?

In On Beckett/In Screen Irwin will performance excerpts from Godot plus The Unnamable and Texts for Nothing.

The Unnamable is the third in a trilogy of novels written by Beckett. It was published in 1953 and follows Molloy and Malone Dies (both of which were published in 1951). Texts for Nothing is series of thirteen untitled pieces of prose.

What Irwin does so brilliantly is to find not just the humor, but the emotion, in each of the Beckett pieces he performs.

On Beckett/In Screen was filmed at Irish Repertory Theatre. It was directed for film by M. Florian Staab and Bill Irwin.

Bill Irwin in “On Beckett/In Screen” (Photo courtesy Irish Rep)

You must make reservations in advance to watch one of the eight performances. The schedule is as follows:

November 17th: 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

November 18th: 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST and 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

November 19th: 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

November 20th: 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

November 21st: 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST and 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

November 22nd: 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST

Irish Rep suggests a donation of $25 per viewer, though reservations can be made if you are unable to pay that amount.

For reservations go here.

Photo: Bill Irwin in On Beckett/In Screen (Courtesy Irish Repertory Theatre)

The post On Beckett/In Screen appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

In-Zoom

Craig Byrd — Thu, 14 May 2020 17:33:55 +0000

All you have to do is say Bill Irwin created a ten-minute world premiere play and I’m there. In-Zoom is a two-character piece written and performed by Irwin. Christopher Fitzgerald plays the second character. The world premiere of this piece will take place on May 14th at 9:30 PM EDT/6:30 PM PDT on The Old Globe’s YouTube Channel. It will continue to be available through 11:59 PM on May 16th.

The premise for In-Zoom is best told by The Old Globe. “Two comic minds convene a meeting on Zoom and surprise themselves as they look at our particular pandemic moment and the virtual way we’re living it.”

Bill Irwin is a two-time Tony Award winning actor for his performances in Fool Moon and Who’s Afraid of Viriginia Woolf? Last year he performed his one-man show On Beckett at the Kirk Douglas Theatre.

If you’ve never had the pleasure of seeing Irwin at work, you owe it to yourself to check out In-Zoom. Here’s a sample of his reciting Beckett from a recent series called Art Goes On from Center Theatre Group.

Fitzgerald is a three-time Tony Award nominee for his performances in Waitress, the wonderful revival of Finian’s Rainbow and Young Frankenstein (where he played Igor and you know how that’s pronounced.)

Ten minutes is not a lot of time. Rest assured that they will be well-spent in the company of Irwin and Fitzgerald.

Photo of Bill Irwin courtesy of The Old Globe

The post In-Zoom appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

On Beckett Archives - Cultural Attaché

On Beckett/In Screen

In-Zoom