ENDGAME to Extend for a Final Time at Irish Repertory Theatre

Irish Repertory Theatre has announced a final one-week extension for Endgame by Samuel Beckett and directed by Ciarán O'Reilly. Starring Tony Award winner Bill Irwin (On Beckett), John Douglas Thompson (The Emperor Jones), Joseph Grifasi (Dinner at Eight) and Patrice Johnson Chevannes (runboyrun/In Old Age), Endgame began performances January 25, 2023, and opened February 2. Originally set to close on March 12, it previously extended through April 9, and will now play through April 16, 2023, on the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage.

Endgame, Nobel Prize-winning playwright Samuel Beckett's (1906-1989) favorite play, is a tragicomedy of epic proportions. Written in a macabre intensity of mood, it represents the playwright's fierce declaration of oblivion in a world populated with its last survivors. The play, about the end of everything, moves inexorably to its own conclusion, with its own humor bursting out of the bounds of Beckett's dark account of the Earth's last whimper.

Endgame tells the story of Hamm (John Douglas Thompson), who is reduced to living in one room, in which he sits, blind and chair bound. His only escape from his solitary world is the company of his aging, legless parents (Joe Grifasi and Patrice Johnson Chevannes), who live in garbage bins, and his shuffling servant, Clov (Bill Irwin), who is at his beck and call, and who, like a dog, comes when whistled for. The only thing left for Hamm is to wait for the inevitable end.

A pinnacle of Beckett's characteristic raw minimalism, Endgame is a pure and devastating distillation of the human essence in the face of approaching death. "Nothing is funnier than unhappiness" invokes Nell, which summarizes the tragicomic nature of this timeless play.

The play premiered at The Royal Court Theatre in London in 1957 in French as Fin de Partie. The first English language production took place at the Cherry Lane Theater in New York in 1958. Irish Rep first presented an acclaimed production of Endgame, directed by Charlotte Moore, in 2005.

Endgame features set design by Charlie Corcoran (The Butcher Boy), costume design by Orla Long (The Butcher Boy), lighting design by Michael Gottlieb (A Touch of the Poet), sound design by M. Florian Staab (The Butcher Boy), and properties by Deirdre Brennan (The Dead, 1904). Jeff Davolt (Autumn Royal) serves as Production Stage Manager with Giselle Raphaela as Assistant Stage Manager.

The performance schedule is as follows: Wednesdays at 2pm & 7pm; Thursdays at 7pm; Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays at 2pm & 7pm; Sundays at 3pm.

Tickets to Endgame begin at $45 and are available online. $25 tickets are available to patrons under 40 years of age via Irish Rep's GreenSeats membership.

Most performances at Irish Rep will be Mask-Optional. Certain performances will be designated as "Masks Required" - audience members must wear face masks for all Wednesday matinees and Saturday evening performances. We recognize that some of our patrons remain cautious about being in an audience with non-masked patrons, and that some are immunocompromised.

Irish Rep will maintain its rigorous cleaning procedures, as safety of our performers and audiences remains our top priority.

IRISH REPERTORY THEATRE

IRISH REPERTORY THEATRE, co-founded by Producing Director Ciarán O'Reilly and Artistic Director Charlotte Moore, is now in its 33rd season after first opening its doors in September 1988 with Sean O'Casey's The Plough and the Stars. Irish Rep is currently the only year-round theatre company in New York City devoted to bringing Irish and Irish American works to the stage. Recognized with the Jujamcyn Theatres Award, a special Drama Desk Award for "Excellence in Presenting Distinguished Irish Drama," an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Achievement, and the Lucille Lortel Award for "Outstanding Body of Work," Irish Rep celebrates the very best in Irish theatre, from the masters to the new generation of Irish and Irish American writers who are transforming the stage. Nearly 50,000 audience members annually attend productions at Irish Rep's theatre located in the heart of New York's Off-Broadway community. Once here, they witness Irish Rep's engaging perspective on the Irish and their unique contributions to the world of drama.