Guthrie Theater to Present ON BECKETT Featuring Tony Award Winner Bill Irwin

The Guthrie Theater has revealed the cast and creative team for On Beckett, an Irish Repertory Theatre production produced by Octopus Theatricals. Conceived and performed by Bill Irwin, On Beckett explores the work of Irish writer Samuel Beckett — one of the most influential theater voices of the past century — with a primer in clowning along the way. The show begins previews Saturday, February 17 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage and will play through Sunday, March 24. Single and group tickets are on sale now through the Box Office or online at guthrietheater.org. Accessibility services (ASL-interpreted, audio-described and open-captioned performances) are also available on select dates.

Tony Award-winning actor and master clown Bill Irwin has spent a lifetime captivated by Samuel Beckett. The depth of his devotion for the famed Irish writer plays out onstage in a nonstop display of jovial verbal and physical comedy that has become Irwin’s signature. With little more than a microphone and a podium, Irwin lets the audience in on the creative process of engaging with Beckett’s undeniably rich language, exploring passages from Texts for Nothing, The Unnameable, Watt and Waiting for Godot. Audiences will fall in love with Irwin’s unique and endearing approach to Beckett’s work.

On Beckett premiered at Irish Repertory Theatre in New York City on October 3, 2018. The production was originally developed at American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) in San Francisco. David Roberts of Theatre Reviews, Limited called it “one of the most profound experiments to be conducted on an off-Broadway stage.” Charles McNulty of the Los Angeles Times commented, “A better guide to playing Beckett would be hard to find. And when it comes to the clowning elements, a masterclass is in session.” Howard Sherman of The Stage declared, “The show is never dry, never pedantic and never anything less than compelling.” 

The one-person cast of On Beckett features Bill Irwin (Guthrie: debut) as himself. 

The creative team includes Bill Irwin (Creator/Performer), Charlie Corcoran (Scenic Designer), Martha Hally (Costume Consultant), Michael Gottlieb (Lighting Designer), M. Florian Staab (Sound Designer), Chris Luner (Tour Production Manager), Lisa McGinn (Stage Manager), Avery Reagan (Tour Lighting Supervisor), Alex Brock (Tour Audio Supervisor) and Mara Isaacs(Executive/Creative Producer) for Octopus Theatricals. 

Samuel Beckett

(Author) was an Irish playwright, poet and novelist awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1969 for his penetrating and uncompromising exploration of the human condition. Born near Dublin, Ireland, he grew up as a gifted athlete, and he studied music and languages at Trinity College. He also traveled extensively abroad, and shortly before World War II, he made his permanent home in Paris. During the German occupation of France, he joined the underground anti-fascist resistance. A keen awareness of humankind’s predicament defines Beckett’s literature, but his outlook doesn’t yield a bleak negativism. Rather, he achieves a supreme convergence of the poetic, the tragic and the comic. Waiting for Godot (1952), Endgame (1957) and Happy Days (1960) are considered masterpieces of 20th-Century Theater. 

Bill Irwin 

(Creator/Performer) is a Tony Award-winning actor, director, writer and clown. Original works include The Regard of Flight; Largely New York (Four Tony Nominations); Fool Moon; Old Hats, The Happiness Lecture; and others. He has played in many Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional stage productions, including On Beckett; The Iceman Cometh; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play); The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?; Waiting For Godot(2009 for a Drama Desk Award nomination); Endgame; The Tempest; Texts for Nothing; Garden of Earthly Delights; Accidental Death of An Anarchist; Showboat and the Tony Award-winning Fool Moon, which he created with David Shiner and Nancy Harrington. 

On television, Irwin appears as Mr. Noodle of “Elmo’s World” and Carey Loudermilk of “LEGION.” He created The Regard of Flight (PBS) with Doug Skinner, Michael O’Connor and Nancy Harrington. Film credits include Rachel Getting Married, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Eight Men Out, Interstellar, Stepping Out, Unsilent Picture and more. 

Irwin was an original member of Kraken, a theatre company directed by Herbert Blau, and was also an original member of the Pickle Family Circus of San Francisco with Larry Pisoni and Geoff Hoyle. Irwin is the grateful recipient of MacArthur, Guggenheim, Fulbright and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships. 

Octopus Theatricals (Producer), which was founded by Executive/Creative Producer Mara Isaacs, collaborates with artists and organizations to foster an expansive range of compelling theatrical works for local and global audiences. Current projects include Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell (Broadway; North American Tour; London West End; Eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album); Gabriel Byrne’s Walking With Ghosts (Broadway); Goddess created by Saheem Ali, Jocelyn Bioh and Michael Thurber; Bhangra Nation by Rehana Lew Mirza, Mike Lew and Sam Willlmott; Dreaming Zenzile by Somi Kakoma; …(Iphigenia), a new opera by Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding; In the Same Tonguecreated by choreographer Dianne McIntyre with music by Diedre Murray; SOCIAL! The Social Distance Dance Club conceived by Steven Hoggett, Christine Jones and David Byrne; And So We Walked by DeLanna Studi; Theatre for One (in person and virtual); and many more. Octopus Theatricals is also home to the Producer Hub, supporting independent producers in the experimental and performing arts sectors. www.octopustheatricals.com

Related Events

A Conversation With Bill Irwin

Sunday, February 18 from 4–5 p.m.
Dowling Studio

Hear from Bill Irwin, the celebrated actor, clown and star of On Beckett, as he shares what drives his work and fires his imagination. Presented in partnership with Celtic Junction Arts Center, this free discussion will be facilitated by the Guthrie’s Director of Community Engagement Amanda White.

Post-Play Discussions 

Patrons are invited to stay in the theater following select performances for a 20-minute conversation about the production facilitated by Guthrie staff. Cast members may join the discussion as they are able. Post-play discussions are supported by Fredrikson & Byron.  

Sunday, February 25 at 1 p.m.
Tuesday, February 27 at 7:30 p.m. 
Sunday, March 3 at 1 p.m.
Saturday, March 9 at 1 p.m.
Saturday, March 23 at 1 p.m. 
 

Accessible Performances

ASL-Interpreted Performances 
American Sign Language interpreters sign the performance as it plays out onstage. 

Saturday, March 9 at 1 p.m.
Friday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m. 

Audio-Described Performances
Audio describers provide live verbal descriptions of the action, costumes and scenery for people who are blind or have low vision. 

Saturday, March 9 at 1 p.m. 
Friday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m. 

Open-Captioned Performances 
LED screens display text simultaneously with the performance onstage. 

Sunday, March 10 at 1 p.m.
Wednesday, March 13 at 1 p.m.
Friday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 16 at 1 p.m.
Wednesday, March 20 at 1 p.m. 

The Guthrie also offers ASL-interpreted, audio-described and open-captioned performances upon request. Requests must be received at least two weeks in advance. 

Ticket Information 

Single tickets range from $29 to $82. Single and group tickets (minimum requirement of 15 per group) may be purchased through the Box Office at 612.377.2224 (single), 1.877.447.8243 (toll-free), 612.225.6244 (group) or online at guthrietheater.org. 

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