Gate Theatre Dublin Returns to US With Samuel Beckett’s Endgame

David Eden Productions has announced full details of the upcoming US tour of the Gate Theatre Dublin's productions of ENDGAME and WATT, by Samuel Beckett. Performances commence on Thursday, October 27 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, presented by the University Musical Society (UMS),
with subsequent engagements following at Carolina Performing Arts, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Cal Performances, University of California, Berkeley, California.

The tour assembles a company of veteran actors, known internationally for their work with the Gate in landmark productions of the works of Samuel Beckett's dramatic canon, as well as for their acclaimed performances in classical and contemporary plays on the Irish stage, and for film and television. The complete cast for ENDGAME features Owen Roe (Hamm), Des Keogh (Nagg), Rosaleen Linehan (Nell), and Barry McGovern (Clov). Mr. McGovern also appears in the virtuosic solo performance, WATT, based on texts selected from Beckett's novel.

Barry McGovern (Clov, Endgame; Watt) has a long association with the work of Samuel Beckett. With the Gate he has played Estragon and Vladimir in Waiting for Godot, Clov in Endgame, and Willie in Happy Days. He has elsewhere played Lucky in Waiting for Godot, Krapp in Krapp's Last Tape, Henry in Embers, Fox in Rough for Radio II, Words in Words and Music, and has directed All That Fall. His one-man show I'll Go On (derived from the novels Molloy, Malone Dies, and The Unnamable) was produced by the Gate in 1985 and has played worldwide, most recently at the 2008 Lincoln Center Festival. Mr. McGovern has lectured, written, and given master classes on Beckett's work. He appeared as Vladimir in Waiting for Godot for the Beckett on Film project.
In 2012, he will play Vladimir in a new production of Waiting for Godot at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.

Owen Roe (Hamm, Endgame) has appeared at the Gate in Endgame, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, God of Carnage, Jane Eyre, The Birds, Faith Healer (Sydney Festival 2009, Edinburgh Festival 2009), Uncle Vanya, Festen (Irish Theatre Award for "Best Actor"), Catastrophe (Irish Theatre Award for "Best Actor"), Great Expectations, Shadow of a Gunman, The Cherry Orchard, and Romeo and Juliet. Other theater credits include Titus Andronicus, The Taming of the Shrew (Irish Theatre Award "Best Actor"), Copenhagen, Skylight, and The Gigli Concert.

Des Keogh (Nagg, Endgame) has appeared at the Gate in Endgame, Arms and the Man, The Shadow of a Gunman, Two-Faced, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Dresser, Blithe Spirit, Heartbreak House, Charley's Aunt. Other theater credits include The School for Scandal, The Coleen Bawn, The Matchmaker, The LoveHungry Farmer, Confessions of an Irish Publican, The Plough and the Stars, My Scandalous Life, A Great Night for the Irish, Dancing at Lughnasa, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, Old Wicked Songs, The Best of Friends, DA, Canaries, Gaels of Laughter, Tartuffe, The Quiet Moment, and The Sunshine Boys. He is also widely known for
his work on radio, presenting Music for Middlebrows on RTE Radio for 35 years, and for the recurring series of revues, the Des and Rosie Shows, created with fellow Endgame company member, Rosaleen Linehan.

Rosaleen Linehan (Nell, Endgame) has appeared at the Gate in Endgame, Gates of Gold, Happy Days, Long Day's Journey into Night, The Rivals, She Stoops to Conquer, London Assurance, The Double Dealer. Other theater credits include The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The New Electric Ballroom, Juno, Blood Wedding, Tartuffe, Lost in Yonkers, House of Bernarda Alba, and Olga. She appeared in Happy Days for the Beckett on Film project. DAVID EDEN PRODUCTIONS LTD.

ENDGAME is directed by Alan Stanford; with set design by Eileen Diss, costume design by Joan O'Clery, and lighting design by James McConnell. The Gate's production of ENDGAME was featured in their acclaimed series, BPM (Beckett, Pinter, Mamet), presented as part of the 2010 Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival.

WATT is directed by Tom Creed; with costume design by Joan O'Clery, lighting design by James McConnell, sound design by Denis Clohessy, and music by Barry McGovern after Samuel Beckett. WATT was presented earlier in 2011 at The Public Theater as part of the annual Under the Radar Festival, which spotlights International Artists ranging from emerging talents to masters in the field.

WATT and ENDGAME by Samuel Beckett are presented through special arrangement with Georges Borchardt, Inc. on behalf of the Estate of Samuel Beckett. All rights reserved.
Gate Theatre DUBLIN has become synonymous with the works of Samuel Beckett, having toured productions throughout the world from Beijing to New York, Sydney to Toronto, and London to Melbourne. In 1991, the Gate became the first theater in the world to present a full retrospective of all 19 stage plays and later repeated the Beckett Festival at New York's Lincoln Center and at the Barbican Centre in London. The Gate also played a major role in Dublin's 2006 Beckett Centenary festival, and subsequently toured the critically acclaimed season, GATE | BECKETT, to the Sydney Festival in 2007 and to the Lincoln Center Festival in New York in 2008. That
same year, the Gate completed an historic national tour of its landmark production of Waiting for Godot which sold out 40 venues throughout the country in the first ever all-Ireland tour. For more information, visit http://www.gate-theatre.ie/section/usbecketttours2011.

Gate Theatre Dublin has been, artistically and architecturally, a landmark building for over 250 years. Established as a theater company in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir, the Gate offered Dublin audiences an introduction to the world of European and American theater and also to classics from the modern and Irish repertoire. It was with the Gate that Orson Welles, James Mason, and Michael Gambon began their prodigious acting careers. Today, in its 83rd year, the Gate has become unique in that it has had only two artistic directorates. In 1983, the directorship passed to Michael Colgan under whose guidance the theater continues to represent Ireland at the very highest level of artistic endeavor, receiving numerous invitations each year to major festivals on every continent. The Gate has a close association with the works of Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, Brian Friel, and Conor McPherson, among others. Having presented many major festivals, both internationally and at home, the Gate continues to develop, nurture, and promote the works of a diverse range of playwrights and is committed to delivering the very highest quality productions that its audiences have come to expect. For more information, visit www.gatetheatre.ie.

The US tour of ENDGAME and WATT is a key component of Imagine Ireland, a year-long season of Irish arts in America in 2011, an initiative of Culture Ireland, with funding from the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

For more information, visit www.imagineireland.ie.

CULTURE IRELAND is the state agency for the promotion of Irish arts worldwide, working under the aegis of the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport. Culture Ireland creates and supports opportunities for Irish artists to present their work at strategic international festivals, venues, showcases and arts markets. The agency comprises a board appointed by the Minister and an executive staff led by the Chief Executive (www.cultureireland.gov.ie).

DAVID EDEN PRODUCTIONS has been one of the leading American organizations devoted to producing international work in the US for over 20 years, and has organized past North American tours including Gate Theatre Dublin's Waiting for Godot and Krapp's Last Tape, as well as Druid's The Walworth Farce, The Shadow of the Glen and The Playboy of the Western World; Declan Donnellan's Twelfth Night; Propeller's The Winter's Tale; Piccolo Teatro di Milano's Arlecchino; Maly Drama Theatre's Uncle Vanya; and the State Ballet of Georgia with the legendary prima ballerina Nina Ananiashvili. Other notable projects include US tours of the Bolshoi Ballet,
festival programs for the Kennedy Center, and premiere presentations of international theater and dance at the BAM Next Wave and Lincoln Center Festivals. Earlier in 2011, David Eden Productions was responsible for the critically acclaimed US tour of the Druid/Atlantic production of Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan, directed by Garry Hynes. David Eden Productions will continue its focus on premiere Irish work, working once more with the Gate on the Washington, DC and New York City presentations of Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape, featuring John Hurt, later this year.DAVID EDEN PRODUCTIONS LTD. 

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