As part of a limited eight-city U.S. tour, Gate Theatre of Dublin brings its acclaimed cast to Seattle to perform the modern classic and quintessential Samuel Beckett play, “Waiting for Godot.”
Written in 1949 and dubbed “the most important play of the 20th century” by The New York Times, this comic masterpiece of absurdist theater allows audiences to witness the existential dilemma of two men waiting endlessly for the promised arrival of the all-important Godot. Will he come? When will he arrive? And who is Godot?
In a special partnership between Seattle Theatre Group and ACT Theatre, this theatrical event directed by Walter Asmus features Gate Theatre of Dublin, Ireland, touring as part of a celebration of Samuel Beckett’s centenary.
Michael Colgan, artistic director of the Gate, is also a film and television producer. He has produced many award-winning plays at the Gate that have toured to more than 20 countries.
Located in the cultural and social heart of the city, the Gate Theatre has been artistically and architecturally a landmark building in Dublin for more than 200 years. The Gate offered Dublin audiences a first introduction to the world of European and American avant garde theater as well as vibrant productions from the modern and classic Irish repertoire. It was at the Gate that such luminaries as Orson Welles and James Mason began their acting careers.
“The Phaedra Project”: Passion fights order in this classical story of fatal love.
The queen desires her stepson, he loves a political prisoner, and the king seeks vengeance as they all struggle against time. This powerful retelling of the myth of Phaedra leads the audience to question their own secrets and their power over the lives of those they love.
“The Phaedra Project” is directed by Beth Raas. It is a production of Ghost Light Theatricals, a Seattle-based fringe theater company devoted to producing relevant and important plays artfully.
“Isadora Duncan”: This is a solo performance written and performed by Langley actress Martha Furey, who has returned from Ireland with her latest one-woman play.
Her latest play is about flamboyant dancer Isadora Duncan, who was born in San Francisco in 1877 and died in Nice, France in 1927. Duncan started her free-flowing Greek style of dancing at an early age and by 21, she had moved to England and soon became the toast of Europe.
Her chaotic, romantic lifestyle, which included many lovers, also had its tragic side, making her the target of cruel gossip for many years. Furey portrays Duncan as lively and colorful.
Furey has presented four one-woman shows on Whidbey over the years: “Georgia O’Keeffe,” “Frida Kahlo,” “Emily Dickinson” and “Virginia Woolf.”
She also has performed two plays in Everett: “The Belle of Amherst” and “Bridget Rose.” Furey spends a great deal of time in Ireland, where she writes and paints.
“Rough Eagles”: Intiman Theatre will present an American Cycle original play inspired by Richard Wright’s novel “Native Son,” created and performed by Rough Eagles students from Seattle’s Cleveland and Roosevelt high schools.
As part of its ongoing commitment to engaging young people through arts participation, the play is followed by a post-play discussion with the students.
The Rough Eagles project was launched in 2003 by students from Roosevelt, a north-end high school, and the south end’s Cleveland High. The students were inspired to use the arts to break down barriers of race, class, economic disparity and physical distance. The productions are drawn directly from the students’ experiences and explore issues they face in their own lives, including race, economic disparities, their family histories and personal stories, and education.
“Native Son” is the centerpiece of numerous public programs that are inspiring dialogue about poverty, power and the state of race relations in America.
Poet Matthew Zapruder: Zapruder is the author of two books of poetry, “American Liden,” published in 2002, and “The Pajamaist,” published in 2006. His poems have also been published in the New Yorker, the New Republic, and the Harvard Review.
“The Phaedra Project”: Opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday with shows at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. selected Sundays through Nov. 19, The Chamber Theater, Oddfellows Building, 915 E. Pine St., Seattle. $10 to $12, www.ghostlighttheatricals.org.
“Isadora Duncan”: 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, Whidbey Children’s Theater, 222 Anthes Ave., Suite 102, Langley. $8 to $10, 360-221-8707.
“Rough Eagles”: 7:30 p.m. Monday, Intiman Theatre, 201 Mercer St., Seattle. Free.
Matthew Zapruder: 7 p.m. Monday, Everett Community College’s Northlight Gallery, 2000 Tower St., Everett. Free. 425-388-9395, kcraft@everettcc.edu.
“Waiting for Godot”: Opens at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave., Seattle. Other shows at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Nov. 10, 2 and 8 p.m. Nov. 11 and 2 p.m. Nov. 12. $38.50 to $43.50, 206-292-2787, www.themoore.com.
In “The Pajamaist,” he writes about love, mortality and life in New York City after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The title piece, a prose-poem synopsis of an unwritten novel, turns all literary forms upon themselves.
Publisher’s Weekly says, “Zapruder’s hip lyricism offers both the slippery comedy and a surprisingly grave, ultimately winning, commitment to real people, emotions, locales.”
Zapruder works as an editor for Wave Books, and teaches poetry in the Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing at the New School University in New York.
Johnny Murphy, Alan Stanford and Barry McGovern in the Gate Theatre production of “Waiting for Godot.”
Molly Bennett photo
Kara Whitney as Oenone and Margaret Bicknell as Phaedra in “The Phaedra Project.”
Martha Furey portrays Isadora Duncan in her newest one-woman show.
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