Sunday the 5th
Information and Guide to Anglo-Irish writer Samuel Beckett created and maintained in Dublin, Ireland

Exhibition at the Museum of Reading, March 25-June 25. On view will be the rich treasure of the Beckett archive that tells the story of Beckett's life and work. Further information.
Gala Event in the Concert Hall at Reading Town Hall, April 2. Readings, recitals and performances. Directed by Anthony Minghella.
Conference at Wantage Hall, March 30-April 2. Featuring scholars from around the world presenting and discussing current trends and research in Beckett studies.

Beckett at 100
An International Conference under the auspices of the Withrop-King Institute for Contemporary French and Vrancophone Studies in Association with teh Department of English & The Journal of Beckett Studies, Florida State University, Feburary 9-11, 2006

Borderless Beckett
International Samuel Beckett Symposium in Tokyo 2006 Sept. 29 . Oct. 1 under the auspices of the 21st Century COE Institute for Theatre Research of Waseda University & the Samuel Beckett Research Circle of Japan venue: International Convention Centre of Waseda University

Beckett Centenary Symposium 5 to 9 April 2006
At Trinity College Dublin

In April 2006, Ireland will be celebrating the centenary of Samuel Beckett's birth. In partnership with the Gate Theatre, Dublin, Trinity College will host a Symposium entitled: The Beckett Legacy: A Centenary Celebration, from 5 to 9 April 2006. This will comprise talks and panels featuring invited artists and scholars. Confirmed speakers and panelists include H. Porter Abbott, Linda Ben Zvi, Enoch Brater, Mary Bryden, Ruby Cohn, Steven Connor, Anthony Cronin, Seamus Deane, Terry Eagleton, Stan Gontarski, Richard Kearney, Jim Knowlson, Paul Muldoon, Frank McGuinness, Joyce McMillan, Jean-Michel Rabat�, Fiona Shaw and Marina Warner. The Symposium will host a meeting of the International Samuel Beckett working group directed by Professor Linda Ben-Zvi. If you wish to submit a paper to the working group, please contact Professor Ben-Zvi on lindabz@post.tau.ac.il

The working group will meet in the morning, panels in the afternoon and writer's interviews or talks early evening. The Gate Theatre will also be mounting a Festival in partnership with the Barbican, London. In Dublin, there will be nine Beckett plays presented at the Gate (Endgame, as well as programme of poetry and prose readings, will be playing during the week of the Symposium), the Beckett Films will be shown at the Irish Film Institute, and there will be visual arts exhibitions in the Douglas Hyde, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Ireland, and the Royal Hibernian Academy. Trinity College Library will hold an exhibition on Beckett and Trinity. Radio Telefis Eireann is commissioning new productions of the radio and television plays.

For further information on the Trinity Symposium contact Anna Kamaralli on kamarala@tcd.ie

Samuel Beckett Festival

From April through to May 2006 we are holding a Festival to celebrate the centenary of Samuel Beckett.s birth. Obviously the primary component of the Festival will be productions of nine of Samuel Beckett.s plays presented at the Gate, as three stand alone productions and three double bills. The plays we will stage are Waiting for Godot, directed by Walter Asmus, Krapp's Last Tape, starring John Hurt and new productions of Endgame and the three double bills: Play/Catastrophe, Rockaby/Ohio Impromptu and Footfalls/Come and Go. Exact dates and times of performances will be issued nearer the time.

We plan to open the festival with a Gala performance of readings of short extracts from Samuel Beckett's poetry & prose. Two different series of these hour long readings, performed by well-known actors, will be staged throughout the festival. In addition there will numerous events going on around the city of Dublin; for example art exhibits inspired by Beckett.s writing, a film festival with screenings of all of the Beckett on Film canon and an international academic symposium at Trinity College Dublin.

In total it will be a truly comprehensive package of events which will commemorate the birth of Ireland.s greatest playwright and we hope you will be able to join us for the celebrations.

A group discount of 10% is also available Monday to Thursday on groups of ten or more.

Tickets can usually be purchased a few weeks in advance of each show through the Central Ticket Bureau on our website www.gate-theatre.ie or by phoning our box office directly on +353 1 874 4045.

Date: from 01/04/2006 to 31/05/2006

Venue: Gate Theatre

Time: 8.00pm

Price: .16.00 - 27.00

Type of Event: Theatre

O'Donoghue announces planning groups for Samuel Beckett Centenary in 2006

Samuel Beckett 1906 -1989

John O'Donoghue T.D., Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism today (Monday, 28^th November, 2005) announced that he has established two groups to plan and deliver a world-class programme of events and productions to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Samuel Beckett in 2006.

John O'Donoghue said, "Samuel Beckett was recognised during his time, in the words of the Nobel Foundation, "for his writing, which - in new forms for the novel and drama - in the destitution of modern man acquires its elevation". I am aware that a worldwide series of events is planned over the course of 2006, encompassing many countries and many genres, and I am confident that Ireland will be to the fore in celebrating the life and works of one of her most talented sons".

The Minister continued, "I am keen to build on the Beckett Festivals in Dublin in 1991, in New York 1996 and in London in 1999, which were organised by the Gate Theatre and I would like the centenary programme to explore the use of the media that Beckett worked in, or was influenced by as appropriate vehicles to honour and celebrate his very significant achievements. The centenary programme will entail a well-balanced mix of cultural activities, which will appeal across a broad spectrum of interest. I intend that the centenary will have a high educational focus, and will encourage an uptake in interest in and readership of Beckett. I feel confident that a strong programme will result in an increase in the number of cultural tourists coming to our shores, who will find the selection of events on offer over the period around Samuel Beckett's birth date, just too good to miss".

The Minister wishes to announce the formation of the Beckett Centenary Council to oversee the overall financial allocation to and artistic direction of the programme and to advise him on the allocation of Government funding to support the programme of events that will comprise the centenary programme. The Council will seek to ensure the delivery of a quality cultural experience that can be enjoyed domestically and marketed abroad by the tourism agencies. The members of the Beckett Centenary Council who have accepted the Minister's invitation to participate are Philip Furlong (Chair), Secretary General of the Dept. Arts, Sport and Tourism, Edward Beckett, Nephew of the Nobel Laureate, Mary Cloake, Director of the Arts Council, Michael Colgan, Director of the Gate Theatre, Cathal Goan, Director General of RTE, and John Hegarty, Provost of Trinity College..

The second group - the Beckett Centenary Festival Committee - will monitor and oversee the presentation of a multi-stranded programme of events and productions to celebrate the works of Samuel Beckett, a major strand of which will be the production of nine of Beckett's plays at the Gate Theatre, itself synonymous with Beckett. It is also planned to mount poetry and prose readings, film screenings, music, television and radio productions, major visual arts exhibitions and as well as significant education and academic contributions. Michael Colgan will chair the Festival Committee and its membership will include the Director of the National Library of Ireland Aongus � hAonghusa, Alan Gilsenan the twice Jacobs Award recipient and European Film Award winner ,representatives of other national cultural institutions and galleries, representatives of RTE Radio and Television, Trinity College, Dublin City Council and the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism and other eminent persons who will be directly involved in the delivery of the centenary programme.

John O'Donoghue said "I am very gratified that the members of the Festival Committee and the Centenary Council have agreed to serve on them. They are all eminent people in their particular fields and will contribute very significantly to the delivery of a successful programme. When the 2006 financial allocation for my Department has been settled I hope to announce significant funding for the Centenary programme."

Members of the Beckett Centenary Council

Philip Furlong (Chair)

Secretary General of the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism since its formation in June 2002, transferring from the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, where he had been Secretary General since January 2000. Prior to that he worked in the Department of Finance from 1968, latterly as an Assistant Secretary in the Public Expenditure Division of the Department.

Michael Colgan

Director of the Gate Theatre. Recipient of the 1996 Eamon Andrews Special Award for that year's Beckett Festival. Former Director of the Abbey Theatre. Has been involved in theatre and the performing arts at various levels since the early 1970's. Has successfully presented Beckett's 19 stage plays at home and abroad, and transposed these plays to film during the "Beckett on Film" project. Written and lectured extensively on Beckett throughout the world.

Mary Cloake

Director of the Arts Council. Formerly Development Director with Arts Council.

Edward Beckett

Nephew of the Nobel Laureate, and Samuel Beckett's executor. Concert Flautist.

Cathal Goan

Director General of RTE since 2003. Joined RTE in 1979. Appointed Ceannasa� of Teilif�s na Gaeilge (overseeing the establishment of the Channel) in 1994, and Director of Television in 2000. Native of Belfast. Graduate of UCD.

Alan Gilsenan

Film-maker. Established Yellow Asylum Films 1985. Winner of two Jacob's Awards and a European Film Award. Also active in theatre and documentary work. Former Chairman of Filmmakers Ireland.

The Beckett Centenary Festival - Barbican
Following the sell-out success of the Beckett Festival in 1999, and the Gate Theatre, Dublin and the Barbican join forces again to celebrate Beckett.s 100th birthday, by presenting the Beckett Centenary Festival, simultaneously in London and Dublin.

For six weeks, the entire Barbican Centre hosts Beckett events in each of its venues encompassing drama, prose, poetry, film, visual arts and music. Whether you are new to Beckett or familiar with his range of work, the Barbican offers you the chance to explore his work further.

'The Beckett Festival at the Barbican is the brightest thing on the London stage.' The Scotsman 1999

'The Beckett Festival has been a triumph on many fronts. It has in fact spilled out beyond the Barbican. An enthralling season.' Financial Times, Sept 15 1999

'The Beckett Festival was a revelation. Again and again, the strength and depth of the artists proved exceptional. This was a season in which every performance led one deeper into Beckett.' Financial Times Sept 22 1999

'What this festival confirmed was the spare scrupulousness of his drama, and the marvellous precision of his language.' The Daily Telegraph 1999

'Season of dazzling delights. A triumph.' The Guardian 1999

barbicanbite06 Beckett on Stage - Rockaby + Ohio Impromptu 21 - 28 Mar 06 / 20:00, 19:00, 21:00, 16:00 / The Pit

Beckett on Film - Film: A Screenplay by Samuel Beckett + Samuel Beckett: Silence to Silence 25 Mar 06 / 14:00 / Cinema 1

Exploring Beckett - Beckett Post War 25 Mar 06 / 18:00 / The Pit

Beckett on Stage - Footfalls + Come and Go 30 Mar 06 - 9 Apr 06 / 20:00, 16:00, 19:00, 14:30, 18:15 / The Pit

Beckett on Film - Waiting for Godot Directed by Michael Lindsay 31 Mar 06 / 18:00 / Cinema 1

Beckett on Film - Endgame Directed by Conor McPherson 31 Mar 06 / 20:40 / Cinema 1

Beckett rehearsals underway for 2005

Rehearsals are underway in Cork for Paris-based Gare St. Lazare Players' "Access all Beckett" Season for Cork 2005.

Synonymous with the work of Samuel Beckett, Gare St. Lazare Players will present a unique series of Beckett's prose work including "Texts for Nothing", "Worstward Ho!" and "Enough" in April 2005 in unusual locations in Cork, normally prohibitive to public access.

France-based Conor Lovett, a leading exponent of Samuel Beckett's work, and Director Judy Hegarty-Lovett are in Cork to rehearse and develop Samuel Beckett's prose works. Among the sites being explored during the Company's residency are the Cork Public Museum and the Masonic Lodge.

The Cork 2005 "Access All Beckett" Season is part of Gare St Lazare Players' repertory preparations of five Beckett prose pieces which they will tour internationally to mark the Samuel Beckett centenary in 2006.

Samuel Beckett in Paris . December 27, 2005. The Irish Community Arts Project, organisers of the annual Bloomsday event by Lucia Joyce.s graveside in Northampton, will now present a reading by Samuel Beckett.s graveside at Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris on Tuesday, 27th December. The event will commence at 1pm. The grave is on the right-hand side coming from Avenue de l.Est.

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Preparations are under way around the world to celebrate Nobel Prize-winning writer Samuel Beckett in 2006.

Dublin, London, Paris, New York and Tokyo will host events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth. Arts Minister John O’Donoghue has allocated funding for staging plays, exhibitions, readings and musical performances. A high-powered organising committee, chaired by Gate Theatre director Michael Colgan, will meet next week to co-ordinate events in Ireland. Trinity College, where the writer studied and lectured, will run a week-long series of events around his birthday on April 13. The Gate Theatre, which holds exclusive performance rights for Beckett’s work in Ireland and Britain, plans several productions. Beckett, who wrote most of his major work in French, was born in Foxrock, Co Dublin, on April 13 1906. He moved to Paris in the late 1930s where his most famous work Waiting for Godot was first performed in January 1953. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969. Previous commemorations of Beckett were held in Dublin in 1981 and 1986 for his 75th and 80th birthdays. The Gate Theatre has previously staged all 19 of his plays during two festivals in 1996 and 1999. Gate director Mr Colgan said: “Beckett is an absolute giant of literature and it will be a pleasure to celebrate him. “I hope events being planned will endear him to a whole new audience which will learn to appreciate the genius of his work.” In October the Gate ran a festival of playwright Harold Pinter’s work to mark hs 75th birthday and just days later he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Gate will run its programme of Beckett events in conjunction with the Barbican Theatre in London. Other commemorations are planned in New York, Tokyo and Paris. The Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris will host open-air performances of his plays during the summer and a Franco-Irish production in the autumn. There will also be contemporary art and musical works inspired by Beckett, and a series of academic lectures and cinema adaptations. French fans of Beckett lay flowers at his grave in Montparnasse Cemetery, Paris, on his birthday every year.