An Taibhdhearc with Company SJ present Beckett sa Chreig: Guth na mBan; four short works by Samuel Beckett, newly translated into Irish and being performed together for the first time ever as part of this year's Galway International Arts Festival. Find out more here...
Guth na mBan / Voice of the Women is the second part in a series by Company SJ, directed by Sarah Jane Scaife, following on from the award-winning Beckett sa Chreig: Laethanta Sona (2021). A compelling visual experience, told through the voices of the women in Beckett's Footfalls · Not I · Rockaby and the reading of Fizzle 4, set against the wild and physical landscape of the west coast of Ireland and the broken, haunted colonial architecture of Dublin.
Book your tickets to see Beckett sa Chreig: Guth na mBan here.
Company SJ weaves text, the body, unique film footage, and live music together to explore relationships and trauma as shaped by history and embodied through the family. Inspired by the language and landscape of Inis Oírr, this immersive Irish language production offers a rare opportunity to experience these works as never before! English audio access will be available for those without Irish.
This marks the first time all four works are performed together in Irish - newly translated by Micheál Ó Conghaile (with kind permission from the Beckett Estate) alongside Mise Éire by Eavan Boland (with kind permission from Carcanet Press). Performed by Caitríona Ní Mhurchú [Na Peirsigh/Persians (Atossa, the Queen), Joyce’s Women - Abbey Theatre, Fair City, Aisha - Screen Ireland, BBC Film & Sky Cinema], Fiona Lucia McGarry [The Long Christmas Dinner, Joyce’s Women - Abbey Theatre, The Young Offenders, Holy Island, Under Growth - nominated for the London Critics Circle Award], and Nuala Hayes [Artist in Residence on the 7 Islands, West Cork - Arts Council’s Creative Places project], Beckett sa Chreig: Guth na mBan will run for 8 performances only from July 11th-19th at An Taibhdhearc as part of Galway International Arts Festival.
Following on from her successful production of Youth’s the Season in the Abbey Theatre in April, Sarah Jane Scaife’s directorial debut at An Taibhdhearc brings her from one national theatre to another. Sarah Jane Scaife, Director, Company SJ said; "The project Beckett sa Chreig has arisen from a thirty two year engagement with the island of Inis Oírr; its people, landscape and language in conversation with Samuel Beckett. The island's landscape has existed millions of years before human habitation and will carry on for millions of years with or without us. This piece represents the artistic engagement of a lifetime shared between language, landscape, our cultural scars and Samuel Beckett."
Muireann Kelly, Artistic Director, An Taibhdhearc said; "Immersed in An Taibhdhearc archives, it was obvious to me that those who have come before me were clearly looking to Europe for inspiration, making work in Irish but with roots in the European canon. This makes a lot of sense to me, particularly relevant in the case of Beckett, as he himself often wrote in French first. As it has been over half a century since 'Ag Fanacht le Godot' was performed here in 1972, I felt we should look at Beckett again, this time from the perspective of Beckett's women."
Beckett sa Chreig: Guth na mBan offers both long-time admirers of Beckett and newcomers a fresh and affecting theatrical experience. It frames Beckett’s work through the lens of Irish culture, landscape, and language. Company SJ uses unique film footage, live music, the body and visual art to explore relationships and trauma shaped by history and embodied through the family. With a multi-award winning design team led by director Sarah Jane Scaife, design by Alyson Cummins (set), Stephen Dodd (lighting), Sinéad Cuthbert (costume), Matthew Martin and Fiona Lucia McGarry (music) and Arcade Film (film), the piece is rich in visual, sonic, and emotional texture, a multi-sensory encounter that invites audiences into a layered world of memory, language, and the body.
“A daring, bold vision, brilliantly realised ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐” - The Irish Times on Beckett sa Chreig: Laethanta Sona
Venue: An Taibhdhearc, Middle Street, Galway
Dates: 11–19 July, 8pm nightly
Previews: Friday 11 & Saturday 12 July
Opening Night: Monday 14 July
Tickets: €18–€20 | BOOK HERE
