THIS April a series of innovative and exciting events are taking place across Fermanagh celebrating the county’s connection to one of the world’s most renowned writers, Samuel Beckett.
Organised to mark the 70th anniversary of Nobel laureate’s surrealist play, the Oh My Godot! (OMG!), as well as Beckett’s birthday and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the festival will be bookended by outdoor, rural performances of the play at secret locations across the county.
As well as the two upland theatrical performed readings, the week – which also marks Beckett’s birthday and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement – will also include six in-conversation events and an immense town-sized game of chess, Oh My Godot! runs on 12-13 and 18-19 April. All events are free.
The celebration, which is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, has been organised by the team behind the Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival, and will also see the return of the specially-commissioned ‘Tree for Waiting for Godot’ by the world-famous sculptor Anthony Gormley.
The team have assembled a stellar cast for the performances, including Alex Jennings (The Lady in the Van, Wolf Hall, The Crown); Malcolm Sinclair (Casino Royale, V For Vendetta), Tadgh Murphy (Brassic, Conversation with Friends), Andrew Bennett (Blue Moon, The Quiet Girl), David Pearse (The Banshees of Inisherin), Conor Grimes (Boys from County Hell).
OMG!’s programme of six themed local conversations is directed by notable quotations from Waiting for Godot and curated to involve the wider Northern Ireland community in conversations with visiting writers, actors and speakers. Writers, including Palestinian author Banu Abu Zuluf and Dublin-based Oleska Zdoravetska, will discuss some of the most urgent situations in our world today.
Bringing together the “cultural, political and biblical” the performances of the play will see the actors “gathering for a post-conflict play in a post-conflict place,” according to the organisers.
A spokesman said of the events, “While not a political event, OMG! mirrors the signatory structure of the Good Friday Agreement, specifically bringing together writers and artists from both cultural traditions in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain.
“It explores the role of cultural and creative heritage in places of conflict and how they may be involved with forgiveness, recovery from trauma and the imaginative regeneration of communities.”
For more information, and to book your free tickets, visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/oh-my-godot-77538636473
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