Nobel-prize laureate Samuel Beckett is being honored from the 23-27th August with Happy Days, the world’s first annual Beckett festival. Appropriately the festival will take place in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, where Beckett lived and studied.
The international, multi-disciplinary festival will, of course, present work of Beckett including world and UK premieres of his major and lesser known works, Beckett’s influences including music and comedy, work influenced by Beckett including Irish, UK and international writers, directors, actors, visual artists, musicians and comedians along with a range of events reflecting his favourite sports.
Happy Days founder and artistic director Sean Kelly has announced that works by Antony Gormley and Joseph Kosuth will also be on view: Gormley’s work, specially commissioned by Happy Days, will appear in a future Australian Aboriginal-Irish co-production of Waiting for Godot. A stainless steel Tree for Waiting for Godot, weathered outdoors in Ireland for 60 days, will be used for the stage production. Joseph Kosuth’s ‘Texts for Nothing – Enniskillen’ Samuel Beckett, in play, is a neon installation depicting two of Beckett’s writings. The work displays the parallel relationship to meaning both Beckett and Kosuth have.
www.happy-days-enniskillen.com
Text by Grashina Gabelmann