WingSpan Theatre Company presents “TWO BY BECKETT” at the Bath House Cultural Center Oct. 4-19. Beckett’s “Footfalls” and “Not I” are two beautiful but chilling one act plays.
The name Samuel Beckett transcends mere ideas or theatrical schools; it stands for a cosmic and comic vision of pessimism and passion, despair and destiny, wanting and waiting. Samuel Beckett’s often bleak writings about alienation, death and language made him one of the 20th Century’s most influential playwrights.
Both plays investigate the “undiscovered country” that Beckett and his characters yearn for. In “Footfalls,” a woman paces up and down a corridor outside her mother’s sickroom to the metronome beat of her own pacing footsteps. The unseen mother describes the loneliness of her daughter’s life, and commiserates with her daughter that there are more years to endure in her life. The mother/daughter fusion is a compelling duet of how we must all attempt to go on.
In “Not I,” a disembodied female voice speaks of itself in third person, recalling and releasing her vocal velocity in a tempest of whirling language. These fragments of disjointed memory weave themselves in a revealing mosaic of longings, doubt, and the frailties underlying the human condition.
“Two by Beckett” Director Susan Sargeant
“Two by Beckett” is directed by: Producing Artistic Director, Susan Sargeant. Jennifer Kuenzer stars in “Footfalls,” with Sargeant in “Not I.” Production crew includes Nick Brethauer with scenic design’ Christopher M. Ham, lighting design; Barbara C. Cox, costume design; and Lowell Sargeant/Sound and Image Design.
The plays preview October 3, with opening night October 4, running through October 19. Performance times are 8 p.m. Thursday -Saturday evenings; also Saturday matinees at 2 p.m. (Oct. 5, 12, and 19). Post show talk backs are Oct. 11 and 18.
All performances will be held at The Bath House Cultural Arts Center, 521 East Lawther Drive, Dallas, TX 75218. Ticket prices are $20 on Thursday evenings and Saturday matinees. Friday and Saturday evenings are $25. The Pay What You Can performances are: Thursday/Preview October 3, 10, and 17.
Discounts are available for seniors, students, KERA Members, S.T.A.G.E. Members and confirmed Groups of Ten or More. Student Rush tickets are available a half hour prior to curtain. For information or reservations call 214-675-6573 or order online at wingspantheatre.com.
