ON BECKETT
Photo by Mark Seliger.
An Irish Repertory Theatre Production
Produced by Octopus Theatricals
Bill Irwin can’t escape Samuel Beckett. He has spent a lifetime captivated by the Irish writer’s language. In this intimate 90-minute evening, Irwin will explore a performer’s relationship to Beckett, mining the physical and verbal skills acquired in his years as a master clown and Tony Award-winning actor. Irwin’s approach to the comic, the tragic, to every side of Beckett’s work – including Waiting for Godot, Texts for Nothing, and more– will allow audiences to experience the language in compelling new ways. Whether you’re encountering the Nobel Prize winner’s writing for the first time, or building on a body of Beckett knowledge, this dynamic showcase is not to be missed.
Bill Irwin
Bill Irwin is a Tony Award winning actor, director, writer, and clown. Original works include The Regard of Flight; Largely New York(Four Tony Nominations); Fool Moon; Old Hats, The Happiness Lecture; and others. He has played in many Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional stage productions, including, ON BECKETT, The Iceman Cometh, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (TonyAward for Best Actor in a Play), The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?; Waiting For Godot (2009 for a Drama Desk Award nomination); Endgame; The Tempest; Texts for Nothing; Garden of Earthly Delights; Accidental Death of An Anarchist; Showboat–and the Tony Award winning Fool Moon, which he created with David Shiner and Nancy Harrington.
On television, Irwin appears as Mr. Noodle of “Elmo’s World” and Carey Loudermilk of “LEGION”. The Regard of Flight (PBS) he created with Doug Skinner, Michael O’Connor, and Nancy Harrington. Film credits include “Rachel Getting Married”, “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”, “Eight Men Out”, “Interstellar”, “Stepping Out”, “Unsilent Picture”, and more. Irwin was an original member of Kraken, a theatre company directed by Herbert Blau, and was also an original member of the Pickle Family Circus of San Francisco with Larry Pisoni and Geoff Hoyle.
Irwin is the grateful recipient of MacArthur, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships.
Creative Team
Charlie Corcoran, Set Designer
Martha Hally, Costume Consultant
Michael Gottlieb, Lighting Design
M. Florian Staab, Sound Design
Performance History
Irish Repertory Theatre (New York Premiere)
Center Theatre Group (Los Angeles Premiere)
Originally Developed at American Conservatory Theater
Workshopped at Vineyard Theatre and Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle
McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ
Savannah Rep in Savannah, GA
The Old Globe in San Diego, CA
Modlin Center in Richmond, VA
A.C.T. in San Francisco, CA
ArtsEmerson in Boston, MA
Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, MN
Duke Performances
Irish Repertory Theatre in NYC
"CRITIC'S PICK! Captivating...radiant, living theater" - Ben Brantly
"CRITIC'S PICK! Captivating...radiant, living theater" - Ben Brantly
What People Are Saying
“CRITIC’S PICK! Captivating…radiant, living theater”
— Ben Brantley, New York Times
“a delicious piece of theater… a playful, intimate experiment conducted by a master practitioner… utterly delightful”
— Sara Holdren, New York Magazine
Engaging, informative, memorable, visual and, yes, entertaining.”
— Dany Margolies, Los Angeles Daily News
“…a better guide to playing Beckett would be hard to find. And when it comes to the clowning elements, a masterclass is in session.”
— Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times
“near-90 minutes of pleasure…Irwin’s physical comedy is delicious… a brilliant gateway to understanding [Beckett]”
