The Samuel Beckett Biennale, a 12-year festival spanning Ireland and Britain, aims to reclaim the playwright as an Irish writer through experimental performed readings at locations tied to his life. Organised by Seán Doran via Arts Over Borders, the event will unfold from Enniskillen to Folkestone, tracing Beckett's footsteps.
Ambitious Commissions Span Decades
In 2036, actor Samuel West will perform Krapp's Last Tape at age 69, using a recording of his own voice from 2006, when he was 39. Similarly, Richard Dormer will perform the same piece in 2038 with a recording currently locked in a BBC vault. These commissions highlight the Biennale's experimental approach, which Doran calls "performed readings" rather than full productions.
Beckett's Complex Irish Identity
Beckett, born in Dublin's Foxrock, emigrated to Paris in 1927 and never lived permanently in Ireland again. He wrote masterpieces like Waiting for Godot in French, leading critic Vivian Mercier to quip: "Samuel Beckett is an Irishman but not an Irish writer." His alienation stemmed from his Protestant upbringing in a Catholic country and the theocracy he found stultifying. When censorship removed works by Seán O'Casey and James Joyce from a 1958 Dublin festival, Beckett banned Irish stagings of his plays for two years.
Ireland's Reclamation of Beckett
As Ireland secularized from the 1980s onward, it embraced Beckett. In 1991, Dublin's Gate Theatre staged all 19 of his plays. Producer Anne Clarke recalled: "It really felt as though it was a national conversation, and a national reclamation of one of our greatest writers." The Biennale continues this trend, opening in Enniskillen, where Beckett boarded during Ireland's partition.
Experimental Productions and Future Plans
The Biennale has already staged a Krapp's Last Tape in Greystones with actor Malcolm Sinclair performing opposite an AI-generated recreation of his younger voice, and an Ulster-Scots translation of Waiting for Godot in Derry. Upcoming highlights include Samuel West and Richard Dormer's performances, with early-bird tickets already on sale. Doran commissioned the pre-recorded tapes 30 years ago, storing them with the BBC. He originally approached Philip Seymour Hoffman, who declined before his 2014 death.
Notable Productions and International Reach
In September, the Biennale presents Not I at Reading University, starring opera soprano Claire Booth and directed by Rufus Norris. Another production, Love, Sam, stages Beckett's letters in Wexford. The 2028 Biennale will feature a Waiting for Godot with four homeless actors from the characters' represented countries, directed by Marco Martins. Doran notes the trust built with Beckett's estate, which strictly controls stage directions but allows experimental readings.
As Beckett's work is celebrated across Europe, the Biennale positions him as a "quintessential Irish European," reconciling his complex relationship with his homeland.
