The Irish Literary Times

AUTHOR James Joyce's spirited impression of an Irish washerwoman's thick brogue accent is expected to send Joycean enthusiasts into a swoon.

Beckett at the Festival is a major programme of the Irish author’s TV, radio and fiction works adapted for the stage. Beckett at the Festival is a major programme of the Irish author’s TV, radio and fiction works adapted for the stage. Inevitably, given the scale of the project and the affection Beckett commands in theatre, there are impressive names in the lineup – and the companies behind the productions (Gate Theatre, Dublin and Pan Pan Theatre) have established themselves as being vibrant bearers of Beckett’s flame.

Eh Joe is perhaps the biggest pull: starring Michael Gambon (The King’s Speech) as the man in a dressing gown facing his past alone. Directed by Atom Egoyan – better known for his films which owe a great deal to Beckett’s absurdism – Eh Joe was originally a TV play but shares the unflinching moral intensity of Krapp’s Last Tape.

Good. I am alone. It is summer. Time passes.

So says Happy Days festival director Seán Doran of Beckett. Doran’s aim is to break new ground, and with the celebration of the playwright in Enniskillen he has pulled that off