Bill Irwin Returns To A.C.T. With ON BECKETT, October 19–23

Tony Award winner and A.C.T. favorite, Bill Irwin, returns to American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) this fall with a limited engagement of On Beckett, Irwin's acclaimed exploration of Irish writer and playwright Samuel Beckett. On Beckett will perform at A.C.T.'s Geary Theater (415 Geary St., San Francisco) for a limited engagement beginning October 19 and running through October 23, 2022. Tickets ($25-$110) and are available at the A.C.T. Box Office at 415-749-2228 or online at www.act-sf.org.

The performance schedule for On Beckett is as follows: Wednesday, October 19 at 7:30 p.m. (press night); Thursday, October 20 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, October 21 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, October 22 at 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, October 23 at 2 p.m.

Bill Irwin can't escape Samuel Beckett. He has spent a lifetime captivated by the Irish writer's language. In this intimate 90-minute evening, Irwin will explore a performer's relationship to Beckett, mining the physical and verbal skills acquired in his years as a master clown and Tony Award-winning actor. Irwin's approach to the comic, the tragic, to every side of Beckett's work-including Waiting for Godot, Texts for Nothing, and more-will allow audiences to experience the language and spirit in compelling new ways.

Says A.C.T. Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon: "I am thrilled that Bill Irwin, returning to A.C.T., continues to let us into his personal and artful wrestle with Samuel Beckett. This is theater as part lecture, part love letter, all exploration and process, all Bill, filled with humor and yearning."

"On Beckett grew out of conversations at A.C.T.-spinning ideas with Carey Perloff back in the day," said Irwin. "The evening is different every night, changing constantly, but it traces back to what we premiered back in 2015 at the Strand. Same title, now a very different piece: It's both a coping mechanism (what do we do with the Samuel Beckett voice in our heads?) and a taking-stock (what is a life of working in the theatre?). I so look forward to reconnecting with Bay Area audiences, and to looking with them at this writer's life's work. And at my own-as a clown, as an actor, as a California Boy moved off to New York."

Conceived and performed by Bill Irwin, On Beckett is an Irish Repertory Theatre production, produced by Octopus Theatricals. The creative team for On Beckett includes Charlie Corcoran (Scenic Designer), Martha Hally (Costume Consultant), Michael Gottlieb (Lighting Designer), and M. Florian Staab (Sound Designer).

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