The Beckett Review is the official publication of the Samuel Beckett Society. Founded in 2025 to continue and develop the work of the Beckett Circle, it aims to inform and connect the growing, geographically diverse audience of those interested in the work of Samuel Beckett. The Beckett Review commits to hearing from as wide an... Continue Reading →
Images of Interruption: ‘Worstward Ho’ and the Saudi Reader.
By Amjad AlShalan In this brief piece, I seek to offer a side of the reception of one of Beckett’s writings that is not often stressed in Beckett’s scholarship: the reception of his texts from a Saudi perspective. Throughout my PhD years, I was frequently asked how I came to know about Beckett after learning... Continue Reading →
Shades Through a Shade, Samuel Beckett Theatre, Dublin Theatre Festival
Directed by Judy Hegarty Lovett Performed by Natasha Everitt, Simon Jermyn, Conor Lovett, Lux Hegarty Lovett, Trey Lyford, Seán Mac Erlaine and Julia Spanu 28 September 2024 Review by James Baxter In the 1929 essay ‘Dante…Bruno.Vico..Joyce,’ Samuel Beckett invokes a vision of purgatory – quite separate from the sombre eminence of his most famous dramatic images... Continue Reading →
Beckett Briefs: From the Cradle to the Grave—Not I, Play, Krapp’s Last Tape. Irish Repertory Theatre, New York
Directed by Ciarán O’Reilly Featuring F. Murray Abraham (Krapp’s Last Tape), Roger Dominic Casey, Kate Forbes, Sarah Street (Play), Sarah Street (Not I) Saturday 25 January 2025 Review by Michael Coffey The Irish Repertory Theatre, the cozy house on 22nd Street in Manhattan, is just what its name implies: a theatre dedicated to building a... Continue Reading →
Refracted Sound: Samuel Beckett’s Quad I + II and Morton Feldman’s For Samuel Beckett, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London
Jack Sheen: conductor (For Samuel Beckett), and co-director (Quad) Rowland Hill: co-director (Quad) London Sinfonietta with members of the Royal Academy of Music’s Manson Ensemble. Dancers (Trinity Laban students and alumni): Kaya Blumenthal-Rothchild, Sandy Hoi Shan Yip, Mary Sweetnam, Timea Szalontayoya Friday 29th November, 2024 Review by Catherine Laws ‘Refracted Sound’ paired Samuel Beckett’s Quad... Continue Reading →
Waiting for Godot, Theatre Royal Haymarket, London
Directed by James Macdonald Featuring Ben Whishaw (Vladimir), Lucian Msamati (Estragon), Tom Edden (Lucky), Jonathan Slinger (Pozzo), Luca Fone/Alexander Joseph/Ellis Pang (Boy) Monday 23 September 2024 Review by Rosaleen Maprayil Beckett’s plays are often staged at moments of crisis. Waiting for Godot, a work that is shaped by Beckett’s experiences of war, has been subject... Continue Reading →
Not Beckett Festival, Jermyn Street Theatre, London
Duet by Olwen Fouéré, Never Apologize by Jennifer Barclay, Wait by FELISPEAKS, I Can’t Remember by Nicola McCartney, and The Lighthouse Keeper’s Son by Hannah Khalil Thursday 17 October 2024 Review by Jonathan McAllister I left early but arrived late. I thought I knew where I was going. But I had walked past the door... Continue Reading →
Ashland Beckett Shorts, Ashland, Oregon
Directed by Octavio Solis Featuring Amanda Moody (Not I), Dee Maaske (Rockaby), Steven Sapp (Krapp’s Last Tape), Puppeteers for Fears (What Where), James Donlon, Alina Cenal, Angel Villalobos (Act Without Words II), Quartet Nouveau (Imagination Dead Imagine) October 24 to October 27 2024 Review by Geoff Ridden The writer and director Octavio Solis has a... Continue Reading →
Waiting for Godot, Yorick Ensemble, Great Road Church, Acton, Massachusetts, USA
Directed by Rachel Hall Featuring Josh Telepman (Vladimir), Michael Jay (Estragon), Quinton Kappel (Pozzo), Tom Marsh (Lucky), and Curtis Keene (Boy) 14 September 2024 Review by Paul Shields Quinton Kappel is excellent in the role of Pozzo at Great Road Church in Acton, Massachusetts. Rachel Hall directs Kappel and the rest of the cast in... Continue Reading →
Happy Days, Theatre Collection London, Arcola Theatre, London
Directed by Victor Sobchak Featuring Catharine Humphrys (Winnie) and Chris Diacopoulos (Willie) 11 December 2024 Review by Stiene Thillmann Even though I would call myself a well-travelled London theatregoer, I’d never been to East London’s Arcola Theatre. Based in an old paint factory just off Kingsland Road, Dalston’s main artery, the Arcola is a charming... Continue Reading →