AUSTRALIAN company, ‘Wits’ End’ is just one of many international companies coming to Enniskillen for the Beckett festival – which kicks off this week.
The company will hold their UK and Irish premiere of ‘Endgame’ tomorrow (Thursday), at 7.30pm in St Macartin’s Hall, with further performances on both Friday and Saturday.
“We’ve always been interested in trying to do things differently,” William Henderson, director of the performance, told the Fermanagh Herald.
“Beckett spanned a huge range of art forms: Poetry, and prose, and his visual sense, his capacity with language has influenced a whole generation of writers.
“To have it in a place like Enniskillen, and to have it in a place where he went to school – and to have it over a few days, I think gives people a very rich experience.”
Unique to this performance of ‘Endgame’, is the introduction of Chaconne by Johann Sebastian Bach – to complement the performance, according to William.
“Our staging is very complex,” he continued, “We have to turn essentially what is normally an auditorium into a theatre – and so we don’t have the luxury of the curtain and all the rest of it. So we’ve spent a lot of time setting up the theatre so that it could work for our particular style of production.”
He added: “I think Sean [Doran, festival director] has really brought together an extraordinary picture, if you like, of the contemporary art world in relation to Beckett.
“Most of us have not been to Ireland before. It’s been a rich experience, and the staff have been great. We’re looking forward to seeing the other artistes.
“We hope people enjoy the show we’ve brought along.”
For tickets to this performance, call the box office on 028 66 325000 or see www.happy-days-enniskillen.com
