Latest news with #WaitingforGodot
Irish Post
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Post
‘Special' stamps capture dramatic scenes from Druid Theatre performances
A SET of new stamps released this month mark the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Druid Theatre Company. An Post has launched a pair of stamps which capture scenes from Druid performances over the years. One stamp shows Marty Rea and Aaron Monaghan in Samuel Beckett's, 'Waiting for Godot' in 2018, while the second shows actor Maire Mullen in DruidGregory' of 2020. Mullen was one of the founding members of Druid alongside artistic director Garry Hynes and the late Mick Lally. 'On behalf of Druid's co-founder Marie Mullen and the whole Druid team, I wish to express sincere thanks to An Post for this incredible honour,' Hynes said this week. 'When Marie and I co-founded Druid in 1975 with our dear departed friend and colleague, Mick Lally, we could never have imagined that we would be celebrating our 50th anniversary and certainly not with two commemorative stamps from An Post,' he added. The stamps capture scenes from the stage (Pic: An Post) 'Druid is a small theatre company on the west coast of Ireland that has, over the past five decades, travelled all round the world. 'I hope that these two wonderful stamps will make similar journeys in the weeks and months to come.' Ireland's Culture Minister Patrick O'Donovan said that a commemorative stamp issue is one of the highest honours the Irish state can bestow upon an individual or group. 'Druid has shone for Ireland at home and across the globe, working with established and emerging writers, actors, producers and technical crew, producing world-class work that challenges, surprises and entertains audiences.' Designed by atelier David Smith, both stamps feature original photography by Matthew Thompson. They are available to purchase from today (July 24) at main post offices and the An Post website. See More: An Post, Druid Theatre, Stamps
Irish Independent
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Obituary: Vincent O'Neill, award-winning actor and master of mime who co-founded a New York theatre company
He was an actor of 'uncommon talent, depth and invention' and a champion of the 'transformative power of theatre', according to US critic and historian Anthony Chase. Vincent Michael O'Neill was born in south Dublin as the middle child in a family of five. His father, Leo, was a principal officer in the Department of Finance, and both he and Vincent's mother, Helen, instilled in their children a passion for literature. As his sister Margaret recalls, the house was 'full of books', and their mother sent them at an early age to Audrey Meredith's school of acting in Glenageary. Vincent and his older brother Chris continued their interest in drama through school in CBC Monkstown, and in UCD, where Vincent studied Spanish and French. He later attended Trinity College Dublin. Chris dropped out of his third year in college when he was offered a place in the Abbey School of Acting and Vincent would follow. They collaborated in the Oscar Theatre and School of Acting, founded by Chris. When French pantomimist Marcel Marceau visited Dublin, he encouraged Vincent to apply for a place at his Ecole Internationale de Mimodrame in Paris. There he was fortunate to meet Samuel Beckett. In an interview with the Irish Echo, he recalled that when Beckett learned he was studying mime, he remarked that 'you are a walking oxymoron, a native of the most talkative nation in the world pursuing the art of silence'. In 1985, Vincent and Chris took their production of Beckett's Waiting for Godot to Buffalo in New York State, where they received enthusiastic reviews. He returned to Dublin to work with the Abbey Theatre company as actor, director and choreographer, but Chris went back to Buffalo. After a visit in 1989, Vincent joined him, telling Anthony Chase in 1990 that 'it's difficult to raise your head above water' in Dublin, and 'when you do, they hang around waiting for you to drown'. Within a year, he and his wife, actor Josephine Hogan, founded the Irish Classical Theatre Company (ICTC) with Chris and Dr James Warde. He appeared in 67 productions and directed 30 more at the ICTC. Chase recalls in a tribute 'one moment of revelation' during the first ICTC production of JM Synge's The Playboy of the Western World at the old Calumet Arts Building, where Vincent was not only an actor but a director. ADVERTISEMENT 'The stage was challenging — a linear set-up with two support poles that had to be worked into every set, walls flocked with soundproofing, sprayed black in a mostly fruitless effort to muffle the pumping music from the adjacent bar,' he wrote. 'But Vincent's artistry transcended every obstacle, commanding the space with that physicality he'd honed studying mime under Marcel Marceau in Paris. His vision communicated this familiar script with a playfulness and soulfulness that I had never imagined before. It was a divine theatre experience,' Chase added. Chris died unexpectedly in 1997. By then Chris's daughter Aisling, who had appeared as the boy in Waiting for Godot with her father and uncle, had acted in several of their productions. They included Sean O'Casey's The Shadow of a Gunman and Brian Friel's Lovers. She is now best known for her role as Carol in RTÉ's Fair City. Vincent held senior roles with the University of Buffalo theatre and drama faculty, and continued acting, directing and teaching. During Covid, he gave mime classes on Zoom. Writing for Theater Talk Buffalo, Chase said his 'mellifluous, expressive, and versatile' voice brought 'the full dimension of so many characters to life, from Beckett to Wilde, Synge to O'Casey, Yeats to Shakespeare'. He won a number of awards as actor, director , playwright, and 'outstanding citizen'. His last performance was in Friel's Faith Healer, directed by Hogan. The couple had remained close friends after separating; O'Neill married Teja Rao two years ago. Vincent O'Neill is survived by his wife Teja Rao, children Laura and Jamie, sister Margaret, close friend Josephine Hogan and extended family. His ashes will be returned to Ireland for a funeral mass at a later date.
Time of India
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
10 quirky literary masterpieces every student should read before college
Before academic syllabi teach you how to analyse literature, these ten quirky masterpieces teach you how to experience it. From absurdist novellas to comic sci-fi and meta-narratives, this curated list helps college-bound students reflect, laugh, and rethink what it means to read deeply. These are not books for grades — they're companions for growth, self-discovery, and unexpected joy. Before college teaches you how to dissect literature in a classroom, these books teach you how to live with literature. They are strange, layered, often hilarious, and quietly brilliant. books that do not just ask you to read but to reflect, pause, and sometimes, laugh at the absurdities of the world. Here's a reading list for students about to begin their college journeys curated not for completion but for contemplation. The Metamorphosis Author: Franz Kafka Genre: Absurdist fiction / Existential novella Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a bug. No explanation, no dramatics. His family reacts not with horror but inconvenience. Kafka does not offer comfort or clarity, and that's exactly the point. This slim novella challenges readers to grapple with alienation and identity in ways that feel eerily relevant to young adulthood. For students on the brink of entering a world that will repeatedly ask them to define their place, this is a haunting, essential first lesson. Catch-22 Author: Joseph Heller Genre: Satirical war novel This novel unfolds in the middle of a war, but the real battles are not just in the air, they're in the logic traps and contradictions of military life. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like You Can Make Massive Side Income By Learning Order Flow Analysis TradeWise Learn More Undo Every rule has a loophole, and every escape has a cost. The phrase Catch-22 has become a cultural shorthand for no-win situations, and Heller's work is its origin story. For students preparing to navigate university bureaucracy, this book is a clever and often dizzying primer on how systems break down and people cope within them. Slaughterhouse-Five Author: Kurt Vonnegut Genre: Science fiction / Metafiction Billy Pilgrim is 'unstuck in time.' He moves between his experiences as a soldier in World War II and moments with aliens on a distant planet. This sounds like science fiction, and it is, but it is also an anti-war novel, a meditation on grief, and a study of narrative form. Vonnegut's quiet refrain — 'so it goes', after every death teaches students a hard, necessary truth: life's chaos is often beyond understanding, and still, we must continue. Waiting for Godot Author: Samuel Beckett Genre: Absurdist drama / Existential play Two men wait on a road, Godot never comes. Not much happens, yet everything happens. Beckett's play is an academic favourite because it resists interpretation. For college-bound students, it offers early exposure to the complexities of meaning-making. What do we do while waiting for things we cannot control? Why do we keep going? These are questions that arrive early in college life. Beckett simply asks them sooner. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Author: Douglas Adams Genre: Comic science fiction Earth is destroyed in the first few pages and a man in a bathrobe is saved by a friend who turns out to be an alien. They travel across galaxies with nothing but a towel and dry wit. Douglas Adams's cult classic is wildly entertaining, but it is also sneakily philosophical. Beneath the absurdity is a gentle reminder that most of life's big questions do not have answers, and sometimes, the smartest thing to do is laugh while asking them anyway. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler Author: Italo Calvino Genre: Postmodern fiction / Metafiction This book begins with you, the reader, trying to read If on a Winter's Night a Traveler. Then the book changes. Again, and again. Calvino crafts a literary puzzle where each chapter becomes a new story and a new voice. For students about to spend years reading critically, this novel is a bold introduction to meta-fiction and narrative experimentation. It gently destabilises traditional ideas of plot, identity, and authorship and does so with quiet charm. The Importance of Being Earnest Author: Oscar Wilde Genre: Comedy of manners / Satirical play Before sarcasm had a name, Wilde mastered it. This Victorian comedy of manners takes on double lives, mistaken identities, and the absurdity of social conventions. Every line is sharp, deliberate, and quotable. At just over an hour to read, it is brief but brilliant. Students stepping into adulthood will appreciate how Wilde pokes fun at what society expects one to do. One Hundred Essays I Don't Have Time to Write Author: Sarah Ruhl Genre: Essay collection / Literary non-fiction Ruhl is a playwright but in this collection, she becomes a thinker on everyday life. Her essays are short, observational, and surprisingly profound. Topics range from parenthood to punctuation. For students with shrinking attention spans and expanding workloads, this book models how intellectual reflection can thrive in fragments. It is a reminder that writing and thinking need not be long to be meaningful. Me Talk Pretty One Day Author: David Sedaris Genre: Humorous autobiographical essays Sedaris's essays on trying to learn French in Paris, coping with a lisp, and navigating eccentric family dynamics are deeply funny but never cruel. His humour disarms without dismissing the awkwardness of becoming an adult. For students anxious about entering new environments, Sedaris offers proof that vulnerability and wit can coexist, and even flourish. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Author: Mark Haddon Genre: Mystery / Coming-of-age fiction Told from the perspective of a teenage boy on the autism spectrum, this novel is part mystery, part coming-of-age story. Christopher wants to solve the case of a dead dog, what unfolds is a tender and mathematical journey through grief, truth, and emotional discovery. It is a necessary read for young adults learning to value different ways of seeing, thinking, and being. Before you begin reading This list is not about reading the longest books or the most awarded ones. It is about encountering voices that defy easy categorisation, about spending time with ideas that do not resolve neatly. In college, you will be taught how to write papers about literature. Before that, let literature write something to you. Something odd, something essential and something that stays. Ready to navigate global policies? Secure your overseas future. Get expert guidance now!
Winnipeg Free Press
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
How do you climate-proof promenade-style theatre?
The only pollutant Waiting for Godot's Pozzo, played by Tom Keenan, is scripted to inhale is whatever substance he's used to pack his pipe. But as historic wildfires ravaged northern Manitoba this spring and summer, the outdoor company Shakespeare in the Ruins — whose productions are always shaped by the tendencies of the weather — had its repertory season of Waiting for Godot and Macbeth forged by the smoky climate. Scheduled to open June 5, the play director Emma Welham calls 'Mackers' did little to contradict its cursed reputation: hours before the promenade production at the Trappist monastery ruins was to begin, the company cancelled the Scottish play owing to provincewide air-quality advisories. Leif Norman photo Lindsay Nance (left) as Lady Macbeth and Darren Martens as Macbeth in the Scottish play After a two-day hiatus, Macbeth, which shared three actors with Godot, received clearance to go on. Then came a lightning storm that washed out two more performances. Of the 40 performances the company had scheduled this season, which wrapped up Sunday, 14 were either cancelled or heavily modified owing to injury or health concerns, with actors' conditions, especially lost voices, exacerbated by the heavy smoke in the air. On back-to-back days, the directors of both shows were thrust into the action as replacements, with Welham subbing for Keenan's three roles in Macbeth and Rodrigo Beilfuss taking the actor's place as the brutal charlatan Pozzo. For a stretch, the planned promenade of Macbeth became stationary to accommodate Darren Martens, who powered through his final five performances as Macbeth while nursing an inflamed lumbar disc. Beilfuss says in a given year between one and four performances are cancelled or postponed owing to rain and other weather phenomena. But this season, which still managed, to the artistic director's delight, to set company attendance records, re-enforced the twinned destinies of great outdoor theatre and the great outdoors, period. 'Human beings have kind of divorced ourselves from nature and that's not natural or normal. We are animals that need to be in contact with nature and because we aren't, that's why things are collapsing,' says Beilfuss, the AD since 2019. 'The great gift to me as the leader of SiR is that we bring people back into nature. It's a really peaceful place to be and I hope we can keep doing theatre out there, you know?' Beilfuss is by no means signalling an abandonment of the ruins, where the company's ever-shifting brand of classical summer theatre has lived since 1994. But he says the organization can't pretend climate-change events are anomalies. So in advance of next season, Beilfuss says he's exploring revised environmental contingencies to address climate effects on production locale. Programming one production at the ruins and another at an indoor space in the city? Producing only one play as opposed to the standard two? Those are options Beilfuss is floating. (Rainbow Stage, which has performed since 1954 in Kildonan Park, produced its first off-site indoor musical, Afterlight, in 2023.) 'I have all of these models I could run, but the truth is, people really want the shows at the ruins because it has become a summer event. They want to come out to be at the park and they want to promenade because it's only us that do that,' Beilfuss says. 'In the long-term, it would be lovely to build a semi-permanent structure on site that's sealed so that in case of weather, we can just move into it.' But the artistic director readily admits there's nothing that can top nimbly produced theatre that responds to the possibilities of shifting winds. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. That was made especially clear during the Canada Day performance of Godot when right before intermission, Didi (Arne MacPherson) and Gogo (Cory Wojcik) consider parting company. 'Didi says, 'Well, shall we go again?' Huge thunderclap. And then Gogo says, 'Yes, let's go.' It was just so beautifully synced,'' says Beilfuss. 'It's those moments you cannot have in any (indoor) theatre on the planet. I'll remember for the rest of my life when (Gogo) says to look at the little cloud, which is in the script, and everybody in the audience looks up.' With outdoor theatre, to paraphrase Pozzo, one absorbs the air in spite of one's precautions. Ben WaldmanReporter Ben Waldman is a National Newspaper Award-nominated reporter on the Arts & Life desk at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Ben completed three internships with the Free Press while earning his degree at Ryerson University's (now Toronto Metropolitan University's) School of Journalism before joining the newsroom full-time in 2019. Read more about Ben. Every piece of reporting Ben produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
9 Celebrities Who Are Headed to Broadway This Year
It's been quite the year for celebrities on Broadway and it's not over yet! While some stars have already wrapped up their 2025 run, there are tons of other celebrities slated to appear on stage in the coming year. In the next several months, quite a few stars will be making their Broadway debut, like Tom Felton and Keanu Reeves, while other celebrities will be reunited with old co-stars in fan favorite musicals and plays. With such exciting lineups coming to the stage, fans better grab tickets now before they miss out on these limited runs! Find out which stars are headed to Broadway… It was recently announced that Matthew Broderick will be heading back to Broadway this year in a production of Tartuffe at New York Theatre Workshop. He is set to star alongside Arrested Development's David Cross as well as RuPaul's Drag Race winner Bianca del Rio. While there's no set dates for the production just yet, you can expect to see Matthew on stage late this fall. Tom Felton is returning to his roots while making his Broadway debut in his upcoming run in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. He will reprise his role as Draco Malfoy for the first time in over a decade for a limited 19-week engagement. Tom will be taking the stage at the Lyric Theatre from November 11 through March 22, 2026. 'Being a part of the Harry Potter films has been one of the greatest honors of my life. Joining this production will be a full-circle moment for me, because when I begin performances in Cursed Child this fall, I'll also be the exact age Draco is in the play,' Tom said in a statement. He continued, 'It's surreal to be stepping back into his shoes -- and of course his iconic platinum blond hair -- and I am thrilled to be able to see his story through and to share it with the greatest fan community in the world. I look forward to joining this incredible company and being a part of the Broadway community.' Keanu Reeves is set to make his Broadway debut this year in a production of Waiting for Godot which will reunite him with his Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure co-star Alex Winter. The pair will take the stage for a limited engagement at the Hudson Theatre from September 28, 2025 to January 4, 2026. 'We're incredibly excited to be on stage together and work with the great Jamie Lloyd in one of our favorite plays,' the co-stars said in a statement. Tom Hanks is taking his short stories to the stage. In an upcoming production titled The World of Tomorrow, Tom is set to bring his 2017 collection of stories to life at the Griffin Theater from October 30 through December 21. In addition to serving as a co-writer, he will also star in the production. It marks his return to the stage in New York for the first time in over a decade. Leslie Odom Jr. is going back to the room where it happens and reprising his role as Aaron Burr in Hamilton. The actor, who was an original cast member and won a Tony in 2016 for his role, will join the cast at the Richard Rodgers Theatre from September 9 to November 23. 'The first time around, I didn't know people were going to like the show. I didn't know people were going to like me, I didn't know anything. So this is the first time I've had the opportunity to step into something where all those questions are answered. I don't have to worry if they'll like it,' Leslie told The Hollywood Reporter. He continued, 'People have embraced me all over the world because of what Lin-Manuel [Miranda] and that original company of Hamilton were able to offer them at all different times of their lives…Hamilton means something. So to go back and revisit that and touch that…I'm just thrilled. My kids are going to get to see this show. I didn't even have kids before. It's very exciting.' Neil Patrick Harris is joining a star-studded cast in a revival production of the Tony Award-winning play Art. The Broadway veteran is set to star alongside Tony-nominated actor Bobby Cannavale and late-night host James Corden in the play, which will run at the Music Box Theatre from September 16 until December 21. Tony Award-winning Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth is returning to the stage for a production of a new musical, The Queen of Versailles. Kristin is set to reunite with Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz for the brand new show in which she will portray real-life socialite Jackie Siegel. The show is set to kick off at the St. James Theatre with opening night set for November 10. 'I'm beyond excited to return to Broadway and also make my Broadway producing debut with this incredible company,' Kristin said in a statement. 'Stephen is a once-in-a-generation songwriter and I'm so lucky we are able to reunite for this original musical, under the direction of the iconic Michael Arden to bring Lindsey Ferrentino's captivating story to life.' This fall, Lea Michele is set to star alongside Aaron Tveit in a revival of Chess, a production that hasn't been brought to life since its initial two-month Broadway run back in 1988. The show's opening night will take place on November 16 at the Imperial Theatre, which happens to be where Lea made her Broadway debut back in 1996. '1996, backstage at the Imperial Theatre—my Broadway debut as Young Cosette in Les Misérables. Now, nearly 30 years later, I'm returning to that very same stage for my sixth Broadway show: Chess,' Lea captioned a backstage photo on Instagram. 'And would you believe the Chess Playbill sitting behind me in this photo? Even then, it was waiting for me.' She continued, 'This moment isn't just about doing another show. It's a homecoming. A celebration of the long, winding, extraordinary journey that's brought me back to where it all began. See you in the Fall.' Early next year, Rose Byrne is set to take the stage in a production of Noël Coward's comedy, Fallen Angels, alongside Tony-winner Kelli O'Hara. It won't be the first time Rose is involved with the play -- back in 2023, she took part in a benefit reading of the show. While the exact dates are TBD, the performances will take place at the Todd Haimes Theatre.
