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All being well, the 2036 & 2038 editions of the Beckett Biennale will see actors Samuel West and Richard Dormer taking to the stage with their thirty-years-younger selves, as directed by Samuel Beckett (1906-1989).

In his 1958 play, Krapp’s Last Tape, Beckett states that the title character on stage is 69 years old. However, the majority of the one-man play’s dialogue is spoken by Krapp’s 39-year-old self, via a reel-to-reel tape, recorded when the character was aged 39. The whole play is a dialogue between the same character at two stages of his life, thirty years apart.

In 2006, during his sabbatical year after his artistic leadership of the English National Opera (2003-6), Seán Doran (Creative Director, Arts Over Borders) had the idea of inviting Samuel West and Richard Dormer to record the tape parts of the play in BBC studios in London and Belfast. Samuel West recorded his tape in his 39th year and Richard Dormer recorded his on the day of his 39th birthday, as specified in the play, with the ‘Box 3 Spool 5’ label reading ‘A memorable equinox’.

Next year, the Beckett Biennale, a new major festival series dedicated to the work of Samuel Beckett, will begin. A joint cross-border venture, the Beckett Biennale will bring remarkable, unexpected and world-first theatrical events to rural and urban settings in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. And, in the Biennale’s 2036 edition, Samuel West will perform with his 39-year-old self in the at the age of 69 and Richard Dormer will follow in 2038 at the age of 69. These performances will be staged in Dublin, Beckett’s home city that is associated with the play.

Seán Doran said, “To realise the 30-year gap between older and younger self is not a gimmick. Tonally, it will re-centre this play to its purist core and, in my opinion, finally be the play as originally conceived in Beckett's inner ear; and a very musical ear it was. I think Beckett would have been intrigued to see his conceit fully realised. The taped self is actually two thirds of the play. In current times, however, wonderful actors actually only record themselves well into their sixties, so the taped voice is also aged. In contrast, to potentially hear the timbre of a taped voice 30 years earlier, in counterpoint to the raspy older voice, with its embarrassing youthful certainty and pace is a fascinating prospect.”

Samuel West said, “I last listened to the recording a few days after making it, and immediately thought I could do better. I went back to the Director and said ‘I want to re-record them’ and she, very properly, said ‘you can’t. That’s the whole point.’”

Extremely Early Bird tickets are on sale now, until midnight on Good Friday, https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/extremely-early-bird-tickets-for-the-2036-and-2038-beckett-biennales-tickets-1317330233189?aff=oddtdtcreator