Samuel Beckett's Theatre: Life-Journeys by Katharine Worth (Emeritus Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies in the University of London and Honorary Fellow of Royal Holloway London.)
In this uniquely personal account of Samuel Beckett's theatre, Katharine Worth draws on a wealth of remarkable material - her own work producing and directing productions of Beckett's plays, often with leading actors such as Patrick Magee, but also with students; the experience of watching other productions; her successful adaptation of Beckett's novella, Company, for the stage; and conversations and correspondence with Beckett himself. The book focuses on the power that Beckett's theatre has to fascinate us with the ordinary small experiences of life as well as its great mysteries. The strange life-journeys taken on his stage are seen to be the universal journey; the endless story-telling about it a process we all engage in. The critical discussion highlights the unique fusion on Beckett's stage of cosmic scenery and humorous individualism. It takes in at one end influential forerunners such as Maeterlinck, Yeats, and Dickens and at the other the lively contemporary performances, sometimes controversial, that testify to the enduring human appeal and magnetism of Beckett's plays and stage fiction.