Three short works by Hibberd, Beckett and Chekhov
Following their acclaimed collaboration on Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Beckett at fortyfivedownstairs in 2018 and 2019, legendary performer Max Gillies re-teams with director Laurence Strangio to present ENDGAMES, a triptych of short works by three master playwrights – Jack Hibberd, Samuel Beckett and Anton Chekhov – writers who, as Gillies puts it – “expanded the frontiers of what could be imagined on our stages.”
“ENDGAMES affords me the opportunity to revive a number of significant persons and personas meandering about in the memory,” says Gillies
“Hibberd’s Monk O’Neill, who lives his hermit’s life atop One Tree Hill in A Stretch of the Imagination, and Chekhov’s Nyukhin in On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco are both outsiders and I’ve found myself returning to them throughout my career. I first bonded with Monk sixty two years ago, reconnecting on four occasions since, with this encounter likely to be a fond farewell. Beckett’s oddballs and worrywarts – Didi, Clov, and Krapp – became unshakeable life companions very early, and Joe in Eh, Joe is unmistakeably a kindred spirit.”
Gillies and Strangio have both developed versions of A Stretch of the Imagination before, while Strangio has also directed Eh, Joe and Max has performed On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco.
“It’s always interesting to revisit work with fresh eyes and in new contexts,” says Strangio. “This time, it’s about the collaboration between Max and I – that’s the initial pleasure – and more particularly, it’s the opportunity to draw these disparate works together to explore how they speak to each other and to the times.”
“We trace an intriguing and visceral critique from one text to another – aurally, visually, physically – a gradual revelation, an exposure, a coming into the light. There is a profound void, a deficit in these three deeply flawed misanthropes that needs to be unmasked. It’s a joy to work with Max and Jillian Murray (whose voice will feature in Eh, Joe) and a brilliant design team – Set and Costume Designer Bethany J Fellows, Lighting Designer Richard Vabre and Sound Designer Darius Kedros – to achieve that.”
May 22 – June 1
fortyfivedownstairs.com
