Beckett Centenary Festival

In 1991, the Gate Theatre held the first Beckett Festival, producing all 19 of Samuel Beckett’s stage plays in a unique tribute with its partners Trinity College – Beckett’s alma mater, and RTÉ. In 1996 the festival toured to the Lincoln Center, New York, where it met with universal acclaim, ‘In fact, the Gate Theatre season – surely, in its scope, power and wit, this year’s great theatrical event’, Time Magazine Aug ’96. Following this success the Gate toured the festival to BITE ‘99, at the Barbican Centre, London.

In April, under the auspices of the Beckett Centenary Festival committee, chaired by Michael Colgan, the Gate Theatre is playing a major part in Ireland’s celebrations to mark the centenary of Samuel Beckett’s birth which will include new stage productions of Beckett’s plays to be presented simultaneously at the Gate and at the Barbican as part of BITE’06.

The Gate programme will include:

Eh Joe
4/5/6/7/8 April at 8.30pm
12/13/14/15 April at 6.00pm
A new stage adaptation of the TV play, starring Michael Gambon
And featuring the voice of Penelope Wilton
“There’s love for you… isn’t it Joe?… wasn’t it Joe?”
Directed by Atom Egoyan.
All seats €24 Preview €18

Rockaby (4 perfs only)
5/6/7/8 April 2006, at 6pm
Starring Siân Phillips
“So in the end close of a long day wentdown in the end went down”
Directed by Loveday Ingram
and
Ohio Impromptu
Starring Peter Cadden ~ Harry Towb
“With never a word exchanged they grew to be as one”Directed by Nick Dunning
All seats: €24, preview €18

Endgame (6 perfs only)
11/12/13/14/15 April at 8.30pm,
Matinée Saturday 15 April at 2.30pm
Starring Kenneth Cranham ~ Peter Dinklage ~ Georgina Hale ~Tom Hickey
“Nothing is funnier than unhappiness”
Directed by Charles Sturridge
All seats: €28, preview €18, matinée €20

Krapp’s Last Tape (7 perfs only)
18/19/20/21/22 April at 8.30pm
And 18/22 at 6pm
A reprise of the acclaimed production of Krapp’s Last Tape, starring John Hurt.
“Past midnight. Never knew such silence.
The earth might be uninhabited”
Directed by Robin Lefèvre
All seats: €28, previews €18

Come and Go (4 perfs only)
19/20/21 April at 6pm
22 April at 3pm
Starring Barbara Brennan ~Susan FitzGerald ~ Bernadette McKenna
“May we not speak of the old days?Of came after?Shall we hold hands in the old way?”
Directed by Annie Ryan
and

Footfalls
Starring Susan FitzGerald ~Justine Mitchell
“Will you never have done revolving it all”
Directed by Alan Gilsenan
All seats: €24, preview €18

Waiting for Godot 25th April – 27th May
A reprise of the world renowned production of Waiting for Godot, starring Stephen Brennan, Barry McGovern, Johnny Murphy, Barry O’Connell, Alan Stanford
“Let us not waste our time in idle discourse!Let us do something while we have the chance!It is not every day we are needed.”
Directed by Walter D Asmus.
All seats: €28, preview €18

26/27/28/29 April at 6pm
Starring Ingrid Craigie ~ Nick Dunning ~ Catherine Walker
“Adulterers, take warning, never admit”
Directed by Michael Barker-Caven
and

Catastrophe
Starring Olwen Fouéré ~ Owen Roe ~ Karl Sullivan
“Terrific. He’ll have them on their feet.I can hear it from here”
Directed by Selina Cartmell.
All seats: €24, preview €18