Who saw On Beckett when Bill Irwin premiered his solo piece drawn from Samuel Beckett’s drama and prose at the Irish Repertory Theatre in 2018? A beautiful show, wasn’t it?
Irwin now returns to Irish Rep in a revised and possibly even lovelier iteration of On Beckett, which opened last week for a brief run into early August.
Long renowned as an award-winning actor and writer, and foremost as a sterling American clown, the warmly personable Irwin presents a thoughtful, often wonderfully funny 90 minutes regarding his experiences performing and puzzling through the existential mysteries and resonances within Beckett’s works.
Magic is so hard to describe, but Irwin is a truly magical artist to witness as he effortlessly reshapes his pliant body, rearranges his expressive features and creates dozens of voices to interpret passages from the Irish author’s texts. A further pleasure to Irwin’s show here is that the theater seats less than 150 people, so the magic happens up close and personal for viewers.
Eloquently performing segments from four works – the highlight is a blazing rendition of the mad “Lucky speech” within Waiting for Godot that Irwin delivered in a celebrated Mike Nichols staging at Lincoln Center Theater in 1988 – the artist reflects, often humorously, sometimes deeply, upon aspects of Beckett’s life and writings and what they mean to him.
Beckett’s language sounds like “the inside of my own head,” notes Irwin, adding, “It seems to operate the way consciousness operates – the inner dialogue or debate, or bitter argument – the complicated relationship between me, myself and I.”
Anyone seriously interested in the art of clowning, acting and/or appreciating Beckett’s works from those viewpoints can learn plenty from Irwin’s delightfully profound lecture-demonstration-
The easy, self-deprecating manner that Irwin presents to the audience enables him to talk about uneasy ideas thus: “I’m going to say a word, now – it has to be said at some point in these proceedings – the word is: Existentialism. And it just puts you to sleep doesn’t it? But there’s a huge irony here, because questions of existence are what keep us awake at night – especially as questions of survival: Will I survive – figuratively and literally – the challenges of each day?”
A trim, craggy-faced, blue-eyed gent in a black suit and nice white shirt who looks nowhere near his years, the handsome, ever-engaging Irwin offers plenty of intriguing insights into Beckett as a very deep thinker, as a quirky Irishman – who wrote most of his stuff in French – and as a playwright whose works never cease to challenge actors and audiences.
Of course Irwin tells backstage stories about Beckett productions shared with the likes of Robin Williams, Steve Martin and Nathan Lane. Irwin is particularly droll on the international issue of whether the name Godot is pronounced Guh-DOE or God-oh and how various audiences react when they first hear it said. Irwin also offers amusing asides on the omnipresent vigilance of the Beckett estate to maintain word-for-word integrity in the staging of his dramas.
The Dublin music hall and Charlie Chaplin origins of Beckett’s dramas zigzag right up Irwin’s clown alley, of course, and later during the show the man pulls on his classically baggy pants and illustrates in brilliant, comical detail about the history and mystique of those bowler hats that the playwright specifically demanded in the stage directions what his Godot characters should wear on their noggins. Several glints of Irwin’s Largely New York and Old Hats bits pop up during his delightful discourse, and fans will be pleased to spot them.
Usually it takes many people to stage a one-man show and that is no exception here. The set designer Charlie Corcoran devises mutable blank visuals that are lighted aptly for drama by Michael Gottlieb. Subtle, effective sound design is provided by M. Florian Staab. Lately Irwin has been taking On Beckett to various cities and the production looks technically smooth. As the show originated at the Irish Rep, the production fits there like a bowler upon Irwin’s head.
Oh, and have I mentioned the show is really, really, really funny at times?
The only reason On Beckett rates four stars here instead of a superlative five stars is because certain theatergoers demand utterly thought-free entertainment, so On Beckett cannot be recommended to everybody. Besides, I have already told all my dearest theater-lover chums to grab tickets, so it is unlikely seats are available, but you might try anyway. Hope you get to see On Beckett.
On Beckett opened July 11, 2024, at the Irish Repertory Theatre and runs through August 4. Tickets and information: irishrep.org
