In this uniquely personal account of Samuel Beckett's theatre, Katharine Worth draws on a wealth of remarkable material - her own work producing and directing productions of Beckett's plays, often with leading actors such as Patrick Magee, but also with students; the experience of watching other productions; her successful adaptation of Beckett's novella, Company, for the stage; and conversations and correspondence with Beckett himself. The book focuses on the power that Beckett's theatre has to fascinate us with the ordinary small experiences of life as well as its great mysteries. The strange life-journeys taken on his stage are seen to be the universal journey; the endless story-telling about it a process we all engage in. The critical discussion highlights the unique fusion on Beckett's stage of cosmic scenery and humorous individualism. It takes in at one end influential forerunners such as Maeterlinck, Yeats, and Dickens and at the other the lively contemporary performances, sometimes controversial, that testify to the enduring human appeal and magnetism of Beckett's plays and stage fiction.

About the Author
Revolutions in Modern English Drama (Bell & Hyman, 1973) Beckett the Shape Changer (Routledge, 1975) The Irish Drama of Europe from Yeats to Beckett (Athlone Press, 1978) Oscar Wilde (Macmillan, 1983) Maeterlinck's Plays in Performance (Chadwyck-Healey, 1985) Waiting for Godot and Happy Days: Text and Performance (Houndmill/Macmillan, 1990) Sheridan and Goldsmith (Houndmill, 1992)

Reviews
Professor Worth writes with rare beauty of thought and style, and her personal knowledge of, and collaboration with, Beckett lends her thoughts added weight. The chapter on quotations is particularly engrossing. * English Studies *
[Worth] brings to this study not only her considerable erudition as scholar and critic but what is now virtually a career of studying Beckett's plays and their performances. The book is rich and rewarding in its frequent reference to many productions and to the insights of the author's extended conversations with Beckett about intepretation and performance ... A lively and readable book. * Choice *
Impressive ... if there can be such a thing as a page-turner in dramatic criticism devoted to the work of a single author, Samuel Beckett's Theatre: Life Journeys surely comes close to the mark ... it would be hard to meet her match for finding the small and significant detail that opens up a play to wide dramatic resonance ... This is Beckett criticism at its best, and it is Beckett criticism that will last. * Enoch Brater, The Beckett Circle/Le Cercle de Beckett *



Book Information
ISBN 9780198187790
Author Katharine Worth
Format Paperback
Page Count 204
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 266g
Dimensions(mm) 138mm * 216mm * 13mm