A symposium on Samuel Beckett — and “Godot” — at Theater X (Kai) in Ryogoku, Tokyo
To mark the 25th anniversary of its opening, as well as the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Ireland, Theater X (Kai) will hold a symposium on 1969’s winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, the Irish playwright and novelist Samuel Beckett, on Friday, June 30.
At the event, three eminent Becket researchers — Mariko Hori, Yuka Kakiguchi and Izumi Nishimura — will talk about the magic of Beckett’s world, along with the actress Rieko Suzuki who will speak from her experience of appearing in many of his plays. Then, from Sept. 1–5, the theater in downtown Tokyo will present “Waiting for Godot” by the Beckett-focused Irish theatre company Mouth on Fire, whose co-founder, Cathal Quinn, will direct it. The production will then be staged at Kyoto University of Art and Design on Sept. 9 and 10. Since 2013, Mouth on Fire has presented short plays by Beckett every year at Theater X, building a great reputation among Japan’s theatre lovers. So with “Godot” it breaks new ground by presenting this famed, full-length work that was named as the “most significant English-language play of the 20th century” by the National Theatre in London in 1990.
For more details, please visit www.theaterx.jp.