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Home , Abbey Theatre, Afterplay, Alan Stanford, Anew McMaster, Barry McGovern, Boston Marriage (play)

CAL PERFORMANCES PRESENTS PROGRAM

November 17–20, 2011 Thursday, 17, 2011, 7pm Zellerbach Playhouse Saturday, November 19, 2011, 2pm Sunday, November 20, 2011, 8pm Gate Zellerbach Playhouse Michael Colgan, Director Dublin and PROGRAM by Watt by Samuel Beckett

Texts from the selected by Barry McGovern Anthony Woods Anthony

The Gate Theatre is grateful to The Arts Council for their continued support. Anthony Woods Anthony The Gate Theatre productions of Watt and Endgame by Samuel Beckett are presented at Cal Performances as part of Imagine , Culture Ireland’s year of Irish arts in America, 2011. cast Barry McGovern The Gate Theatre is a not-for-profit organization which is administered by the Edwards-MacLiammóir Trust and funded in part by the Irish Arts Council. creatives The U.S. tour of Watt and Endgame is presented in association with David Eden Productions, Ltd. Director Tom Creed Watt and Endgame by Samuel Beckett are presented through special arrangement with Costume Design Joan O’Clery Georges Borchardt, Inc. on behalf of the Estate of Samuel Beckett. All rights reserved. Lighting Design James McConnell Sound Design Denis Clohessy These performances are made possible, in part, by Patron Sponsors Music Barry McGovern after Samuel Beckett Berliner and Marian Lever.

Cal Performances’ 2011–2012 season is sponsored by Wells Fargo. Watt is approximately 55 minutes in length with no intermission.

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A on Watt Thursday, November 17, 2011, 7pm Friday, November 18, 2011, 8pm amuel beckett wrote of Watt: “It is an After the war, Beckett tried to have Watt Saturday, November 19, 2011, 8pm Sunsatisfactory book, written in dribs and published, but it was rejected by all to whom it Sunday, November 20, 2011, 3pm drabs, but it has its place in the series, as will was sent. One publisher wrote, “What is it that Zellerbach Playhouse perhaps appear in time.” this Dublin air does to these ?” It was It was begun in on February 11, 1941, eventually published in August 1953 in Paris and not completed until 1945. There are six note- by Press in collaboration with a group Gate Theatre Dublin books in the University of Texas at Austin which of young American expatriates, led by Richard are full of material that did not end up in the Seaver, called Collection Merlin (or the Merlin PROGRAM published book. These notebooks are extraordi- juveniles, as Beckett called them). Later it was nary manuscripts, full of doodles, drawings and published by in the United States designs—mathematical and otherwise—which and by John Calder in Britain. Watt was banned Endgame tell the tale of the book, so long in gestation. The in Ireland in 1954 but, curiously, Ireland was the by Samuel Beckett novel (if that is the word) was written in English, first country to publish extracts from Watt in his last work in that language before turning to the literary magazines Envoy and Irish Writing French. He did, of course, write in both English between 1950 and 1953. It was while touring and French later. Ireland as an actor in Anew McMaster’s compa- Watt is the great transition work in Beckett’s ny in the early 1950s that read an writing, the bridge between the Joyce-influenced extract from Watt in one of those magazines and early work and the great middle period of the became one of Beckett’s greatest champions. late 1940s and 1950s. Watt is for many a difficult book to read, Most of the writing of Watt took place in not least because of its seemingly endless lists the village of Roussillon in the area of and combinations and permutations. But the southeastern France between 1943 and 1944, perseverance is worth it and those who give it when Beckett was on the run from the a chance will find great riches of language and because of his work with the philosophy and great cause for laughter. It is one during World War II. He described writing it as of the few books that have made me laugh out “only a game, a means of staying sane.” loud on public transport.

The house of Mr. Knott where Watt Watt the show is not Watt the book. It is a Woods Anthony goes to work is based on two houses: mainly distillation of the essence of the book. Much has Cooldrinagh in , County Dublin, the had to be left out for an hour-long show. My ear- cast Beckett family home, and, to a lesser extent, the nest hope is that those who enjoy the show, and nearby Glencairn, the former home of Richard particularly those who don’t, will read the book. Hamm Owen Roe “Boss” Croker, a retired Irish-American politi- It is unlike anything else you will have read. Clov Barry McGovern cian, and, more recently, the residence of the This stage version of Watt is dedicated to the British Ambassador to Ireland. Watt’s journey memory of my good friend the great New York Nell on the train is from in publisher and book lover, Dick Seaver, who died Nagg Des Keogh Dublin to Foxrock on the old Harcourt in 2009 and who, more than anyone else, was Street railway line, most of which is now a tram- responsible for publishing Watt. creatives line. The racecourse is Leopardstown. Barry McGovern Director Set Design Eileen Diss Costume Design Joan O’Clery Lighting Design James McConnell

Endgame is approximately 90 minutes in length with no intermission.

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beckett at the gate

he gate theatre is synonymous with 1931 1950 1975 Tthe works of Samuel Beckett, having toured Performance of his first dramatic work, Le Kid, Death of his mother. Directs at Schiller Theatre, productions throughout the world from Beijing a of Corneille, at the . Berlin, assisted by Walter Asmus. to New York, Sydney to Toronto and , his only major piece of , 1953 to Melbourne. published. Resigns his lectureship in Trinity. World premiere in Paris of En Attendant Godot 1976 In 1991, the Gate became the first theater at the Théâtre de Babylone in Paris. and performed in London. in the world to present a full retrospective of all 1932 Ends and Odds published in London and 19 stage plays and, later, repeated the festival at Lives for brief periods in Kassel, Paris, London 1954 New York. Lincoln Center in New York and at the Barbican and Dublin. Waiting for Godot, translated by Beckett is pub- Centre in London. The Gate also played a major lished by Grove Press in New York. 1978 role in the 2006 Beckett Centenary Festival. 1933 Publication of Mirlitonnades, a collection of In 2007, the Gate toured a critically ac- Death of his father. 1957 short poems. claimed season, entitled Gate | Beckett, to the World premiere of Fin de Partie in French at the Sydney Festival and the following year toured 1934 , London. 1980 it to Lincoln Center Festival in New York. In Publication of . Publication of , a novella. 2008, the Gate completed an historic tour of 1958 its landmark production of Waiting for Godot, 1935 World premiere of Krapp’s Last Tape in London. 1981 which sold out 40 venues throughout the coun- Echo’s Bones, a cycle of 13 poems, published. World premiere of and Ohio Impromptu try in the first ever all-Ireland tour. 1959 in America. 1937 Receives an honorary degree from Trinity Moves to Paris. In November, testifies in Dublin College, Dublin. , a radio , wins the 1982 beckett chronology at the libel trial of Oliver St. John Gogarty. Italia Prize. , dedicated to the imprisoned Czech dramatist Václav Havel, is performed in France. 1906 1938 1961 is premiered on German television. III Samuel Barclay Beckett born on Good Friday, Stabbed on the street by a Parisian pimp named World premiere of in New York. Seen III Said is published in London. , at Foxrock, Dublin, the second son of Prudent. , his first novel, is published in William Mary Roe Beckett. London after 42 rejections. 1963 1983 World premiere of Play in German ? is premiered in New York. 1920–1923 1942 in Ulm. Educated at , . French Resistance group in which Beckett is ac- 1984 tive is betrayed to the Gestapo. Beckett escapes 1964 Collected Shorter Prose, 1945–1980 is published 1923–1927 and flees to Roussillon, near Avignon, where he Film, made in New York starring . in London. Reads French and Italian at Trinity College, remains for the next two years. Dublin. In B.A. examinations placed first in 1968 1986 class in Modern . Spends 1926 sum- 1945 performed for the first time in Samuel Beckett: The Complete Dramatic Works mer vacation in France on a bicycle tour of the Awarded the Croix de Guerre for his work in the English at the Peacock Theatre, Dublin. published in London. Châteaux of the Loire. Resistance movement. 1969 1988 1928 1946 Awarded for Literature. “What Is the Word” is published in Grand Street, Exchange lecturer at École Normale Supérieure Begins writing the trilogy of , New York. in Paris. Meets . and in French. 1972 World premiere of at Lincoln Center, 1989 1930 1949 New York. is published in London and New First separately published work, a poem, Finishes writing En Attendant Godot. York and as Soubresauts in Paris. Whoroscope. Appointed assistant lecturer in French, Trinity College. Beckett dies in Paris on .

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The Gate Theatre has been, artistically and ar- Lintel, Landmark; and Man of Valour, Corn Centenary Festival, The Constant Wife, Lady and shows and spent 35 years presenting chitecturally, a landmark building for over 250 Exchange. His film credits include His and Windermere’s Fan, The Heiress, Arcadia, The Music for Middlebrows on RTE Radio. years. Established as a theater company in 1928 Hers, Undressing My Mother, Useless Dog, Venom Homecoming, Pinter Festival (also at Lincoln by and Micheál MacLiammóir, Films; The Limits of Liberty, South Wind Blows; Centre, New York). Her other theater credits in- Rosaleen Linehan (Nell, Endgame) has per- the Gate offered Dublin audiences an introduc- In Sunshine or in Shadow, Babyface Goes to clude (with Jonathan Pryce, trans- formed with the Gate Theatre in Endgame, tion to the world of European and American Hollywood, A Bloody Canvas, Fastnet Films; and fer to New York), Theatre Royal Bath; Watch on Gates of Gold, Happy Days, Long Day’s Journey theater and also to from the modern and Her Mother’s Daughters, Underground Films. the Rhine, Measure for Measure, The Caretaker, into , The Rivals, She Stoops to Conquer, Irish repertoire. It was with the Gate that Orson The Philanderer, No Man’s Land, Royal National London Assurance and The Double Dealer. Her Welles, James Mason and be- Tom Creed (Director, Watt) directed Watt for Theatre; A Letter of Resignation, Taking Sides, other theater credits include The Beauty Queen of gan their prodigious acting careers. the Gate Theatre at the Dublin Theatre Festival The Hothouse, , Twelve Angry Men and Leenane, The ; New Electric Ballroom, Today, in its 83rd year, the Gate has become and Under the Radar at the Public Theater, most of Simon Gray’s plays in London’s West Druid; Juno, City Center; Encores! Season; unique in that it has had only two artistic di- New York, as well as Mimic (PS122 as part of End. Her television and film credits include The Blood Wedding, Almeida; Tartuffe, Roundabout rectorates. In 1983, the directorship passed to coil 2010). His other theater credits include Maigret, the Somerset Maugham series, and many Theatre, New York; , The Guthrie, Michael Colgan, under whose guidance the Una Santa Oscura by Ian Wilson (Project Arts plays and films for the BBC and ITV, includ- Minneapolis; House of Bernarda Alba, Abbey theater continues to represent Ireland at the very Centre and Dublin Theatre Festival); Solemn ing Cider with Rosie, Jeeves and Wooster series, Theatre; and Olga, Rough Magic. Her film highest level of artistic endeavor, receiving nu- Mass for a Full Moon in Summer, Life Is a Longitude, A Doll’s House, Betrayal, 84 Charing and television credits include About Adam, The merous invitations each year to major festivals Dream, Attempts on Her Life (“Best Director” Cross Road, August and A Handful of Dust. Butcher Boy, Happy Days (), The on every continent. Nomination, Irish Times Theatre Awards), Hilo Country, Mad About Mambo, Sharpe’s Gold The Gate has a close association with the Dream of Autumn, 4.48 Psychosis (seeds 2 show- Des Keogh (Nagg, Endgame) has performed and The Matchmaker. works of Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, Brian case), Rough Magic; Berlin Love Tour, Say Hi with the Gate Theatre in Endgame, Arms and the Friel and Conor McPherson, to name but a few. to the Rivers and the Mountains, The Heights, Man, , Two-Faced, The James McConnell (Lighting Design, Watt)’s Having presented many major festivals, both in- The Art of Swimming, The Train Show, Dark Importance of Being Earnest, The Dresser, Blithe theater credits include Hay Fever, Jane Eyre, ternationally and at home, the Gate continues to Week (Judges Special Award Nomination, Irish Spirit, Heartbreak House and Charley’s Aunt. Krapp’s Last Tape (2010, Dublin and transfer to develop, nurture and promote the works of a di- Times Theatre Awards), Soap!, Crave, Integrity, His other theater credits include The School for London); ; , The Yalta verse range of playwrights, and is committed to Playgroup; Broken Croí/Heart Briste, Manchán Scandal, The Coleen Bawn (transfer to National Game, (Gate | Friel, Dublin, Sydney delivering the very highest quality productions Magan; All Over Town, Calipo/thisispopbaby; Theatre, London), Portia Coughlan (transfer to Festival, International Festival), that our audiences have come to expect. The Last Mile, Blue Raincoat; Ian Wilson’s The Royal Court Theatre, London),Kevin’s Bed, Waiting for Godot (National Tour, 2008); Present Handsomest Drowned Man in the World with ; The Matchmaker, The Love- Laughter (Dublin and Spoleto Festival, United Denis Clohessy (Sound Design, Watt) has Gavin Friday ( Festival and Centre Hungry Farmer, Confessions of an Irish Publican States); (Irish Times Theatre Award designed sound for the Gate Theatre for Hay Culturel Irlandais, Paris); The Coming World, (all adapted from John B. Keane), The Plough Nomination for Best Lighting Design; Transfer Fever, , Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Making Strange; The Case of , and the Stars, My Scandalous Life, Irish Repertory to Duke of York’s, London; also part of Gate Beckett Pinter Mamet Festival, Death of a Dublin Theatre Festival; Mr Kolpert, Once Off Theatre, New York;A Great Night for the Irish | Beckett season which toured to the Sydney Salesman, Arcadia, Present Laughter, All My Productions Rep Experiment, Dublin Fringe (Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall); and Lincoln Center festivals); I’ll Go On (Gate Sons, Faith Healer, Afterplay, The Yalta Game Festival; Love’s Labour’s Lost, Vinegar Tom, , Someone Who’ll Watch | Beckett); (World Premiere, Gate | (Sydney Festival 2009), , Festen Samuel Beckett Centre; The Ideal Homes Show, Over Me, Old Wicked Songs, The Best of Friends, Beckett); ; Krapp’s Last Tape (Barbican and Hedda Gabler. His other theater credits in- Activate Youth Theatre; and Purple, Dublin , United States; The Matchmaker (“Best bite 99); , A Piece of Monologue and clude The Rivals, , , Youth Theatre. Mr. Creed is Director of Cork Actor” nominee 2001); The Love-Hungry Farmer Beckett Festival (Dublin 1991). He is also the The Seafarer, , , Midsummer Festival. Previously he served as co- (“Best Actor” nominee 2004), Edinburgh Fringe; Gate Theatre’s Production Manager. Julius Caesar, Abbey Theatre; Big Love, Burial founder and joint Artistic Director of Playgroup, Des and Rosie Shows, Canaries, Gaels of Laughter, at Thebes, Fool for Love, Woman and Scarecrow, an Associate Director of Rough Magic Theatre Gaiety Theatre; Tartuffe, The Pirates of Penzance, Barry McGovern (Watt; Clov, Endgame) has Peacock; The Importance of Being Earnest, Company and Theatre and Curator of Olympia Theatre; The Stanley Parkers, Druid, had a long association with the work of Samuel Sodome My Love (Irish Times Theatre Award), Kilkenny Arts Festival. ; The Quare Land (Galway Arts Festival Beckett. With the Gate Theatre he has played Solemn Mass for a Full Moon in Summer, Life Is a 2010); The Quiet Moment, Belltable, Limerick; Estragon and Vladimir in Waiting for Godot, Dream, Is This About Sex?, Attempts on Her Life, Eileen Diss (Set Design, Endgame) has de- The Sunshine Boys, The Civic, Tallaght. His film Clov in Endgame and Willie in Happy Days. Don Carlos, Dream of Autumn, Rough Magic; signed for the Gate Theatre for God of Carnage, and television credits include Ryan’s Daughter, He has also played Lucky in Waiting for Godot, The Giant Blue Hand, The Ark;Silent , The Pride Beckett Pinter Mamet Festival, Present Laughter , Bad Day at Blackrock, The Clinic, Father Krapp in Krapp’s Last Tape, Henry in Embers, of Parnell Street, Fishamble; , Titus (transfer to Spoleto Festival), The Old Curiosity Ted, Charley’s Aunt, An Ideal Husband and Me Fox in Rough for Radio II, Words in Words and Andronicus, Siren Productions; Underneath the Shop, The Deep Blue Sea, Private Lives, Beckett Mammy. On radio, he has performed in plays Music and directed . His one-man

22 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 23 ABOUT THE ARTISTS ABOUT THE ARTISTS show I’ll Go On (derived from the novels Molloy, Owen Roe (Hamm, Endgame) has performed , The Irish R.M., The Treaty, The Night, Propeller’s The Winter’s Tale, Piccolo Malone Dies and The Unnamable) was produced with the Gate Theatre in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Hanging Gale, Moll Flanders, Kidnapped, The Teatro di Milano’s Arlecchino, the Russian by the Gate in 1985 and has played world- God of Carnage, Jane Eyre, Endgame, The Birds, American, Animal Farm and Waiting for Godot. Patriarchate Choir of Moscow, Batsheva Dance wide, most recently at the 2008 Lincoln Center Faith Healer (Sydney Festival 2009, Edinburgh He has written a of The Picture of Company and the State Ballet of Georgia with Festival. Mr. McGovern has lectured, written International Festival 2009, Gate Theatre 2009 Dorian Gray. the Bolshoi prima ballerina Nina Ananiashvili. and given master classes on Beckett’s work and and 2010), Uncle Vanya, Festen (Irish Times “Best In 2004, David Eden curated Lincoln Center is frequently asked to give readings of the poetry Actor” Award), Catastrophe (Irish Times “Best David Eden Productions, Ltd. (DEP) has been Festival’s Ashton Celebration, a two-week cen- and prose. His recordings of the Three Novels Actor” Award), , Shadow one of the leading American organizations de- tennial retrospective at the Metropolitan Opera (Molloy, Malone Dies and The Unnamable) is of a Gunman, The Cherry Orchard and Romeo voted to producing international performing House celebrating master choreographer Sir available from www.rte.ie/shop. His recent stage and Juliet. His other theater credits include arts in the United States for over 20 years. Most Frederick Ashton. Other notable projects in- work includes Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Jane Eyre, Titus Andronicus (Irish Times “Best Actor” recently, DEP has produced North American clude U.S. tours of the Bolshoi Ballet; festival and Arcadia, Gate Theatre; Nomination), Siren Productions; The Taming tours of Galway’s Druid Theatre’s The Cripple of programs for the Kennedy Center, including , Abbey Theatre; of the Shrew (Irish Times “Best Actor” Award), Inishmaan, The Walworth Farce and DruidSynge, Arts of the United Kingdom (2001), Island: Arts Philadelphia, Here I Come!, Gaiety Theatre; and , Rough Magic; Skylight, Landmark presenting their productions of The Shadow of the from Ireland (2000) and Art of the State: Israel Life Is a Dream, Rough Magic. His film cred- Productions; Heavenly Bodies, The Peacock; Glen and The Playboy of the Western World. Other at 50 (1998); and premiere presentations of inter- its include Joe Versus the Volcano, Braveheart, The Gigli Concert, Abbey Theatre and tour recent tours include the Gate Theatre Dublin’s national theater and dance projects at the BAM The General and Waiting for Godot (Beckett of Australia. His film and television cred- Waiting for Godot, Declan Donnellan’s Twelfth Next Wave and Lincoln Center festivals. on Film). In March 2012, he will play Vladimir its include Sensations, Swansong, Wide Open in a new production of Waiting for Godot at the Spaces, When Harry Met Bob, Whistleblower, Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. God’s Executioner, The Galway Races, Alarm, Pride and Joy, Breakfast on Pluto, Intermission, Joan O’Clery (Costume Design, Endgame and Frankie Starlight, Michael Collins, When the Gate Theatre Dublin Watt) has designed for the Gate Theatre for Sky Falls, Val Falvey, Making the Cut, The Molly Sweeney, God of Carnage, Watt, Endgame, Last Furlong, Prosperity, In the Shadow of the administrative staff Boston Marriage, Celebration, Arcadia (2010 and North, Ballykissangel, The Ambassador, Anytime Director Michael Colgan Pinter Festival 1997; Irish Times “Best Costume Now, The Broker’s Man, Loving, Soft Sand and Deputy Director Padraig Heneghan Design”) and Oleanna. Her other theater cred- Blue Seas. Head of Production Teerth Chungh its include , The Plough and the Theatre Manager David Quinlan Stars, The Last Days of a Reluctant Tyrant, Christ Alan Stanford (Director, Endgame) has direct- Production Manager Jim McConnell Deliver Us, (Irish Times “Best Costume ed his own adaptations of , Press & Marketing Jennifer Higgins & Caroline Kennedy Design”), , A Doll’s House, The Wild The Old Curiosity Shop, Jane Eyre, Oliver Twist Duck, , The Colleen Bawn and The Picture of Dorian Gray, which he co- tour production staff and The Importance of Being Earnest, Abbey adapted, for the Gate Theatre. His other pro- Tour Production & Company Manager Leo McKenna Theatre. Ms. O’Clery has a long association ductions for the Gate include God of Carnage, Stage Director Miriam Duffy with the Abbey Theatre and was head of its Present Laughter (transfer to Spoleto Festival Production Coordinator Valerie Keogh Costume Dept from 2002–2007); The Girl Who 2010), A Christmas Carol, The Real Thing, The Wardrobe Supervisor Kiki Beamish Forgot to Sing Badly, The Ark; The Taming of the Deep Blue Sea, Great Expectations, Private Lives, Shrew, Macbeth, Royal Shakespeare Company, The Constant Wife, Romeo and Juliet, A Tale of david eden productions, ltd. Stratford and London’s West End. Her dance Two , Lady Windermere’s Fan (1997 and President David Eden and opera work includes and 2005), Cyrano de Bergerac, An Ideal Husband, General Manager Erica Charpentier Swept, CoisCeim Dance Theatre; La Traviata, The Importance of Being Earnest and Endgame. Production Manager Trevor Long English National Opera, London Colisieum; Mr. Stanford is Artistic Director of Second Visa Coordinator Elise-Ann Konstantin and Turandot and Dead Man Walking, Opera Age Theatre Company, for whom he has most Travel Agent Lori Harrison, Atlas Travel Ireland. Her film credits include Swansong, The recently directed Hamlet, Philadelphia, Here I Consultant Scott Watson Story of Occi Byrne by Conor MacDermottroe Come! and A Doll’s House. He is an Associate (ifta nominated for “Best Costume Design”) Director of Pittsburgh Irish and Classical and Snap by Carmel Winters. Theatre, for whom he has directed Salome, Betrayal and Celebration. is film credits include

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