Beckett's Landmark Work Not I to Return to the Royal Court Theatre after 40 years

PRESS RELEASE

BECKETT’S LANDMARK WORK NOT I TO RETURN TO THE ROYAL COURT THEATRE AFTER FORTY YEARS

Samuel Beckett’s landmark one-woman piece Not I will return to the Royal Court Theatre, 40 years after the theatre held its UK premiere in a performance by Lisa Dwan from 22, 23, 24 May in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs.

Beckett’s Not I is an intense monologue, set in a pitch-black space lit by a single beam of light. A disembodied female mouth floats eight feet above the stage and delivers a stream of consciousness, spoken, as Beckett directed, at the speed of thought.

Lisa Dwan performs the piece in nine minutes – the fastest it has ever been performed. She was tutored in the role by Billie Whitelaw, who originally performed the part at its 1973 premiere and was personally coached for the part by Beckett himself.

After Dwan’s performance, there will be a screening of an interview with Whitelaw on her experiences of performing of Not I, followed by a panel discussion with Lisa Dwan, theatre director Roger Michell (who worked as Assistant Director at the Royal Court on Beckett’s Happy Days in 1978) and special guests with an audience Q&A afterwards.

Lisa Dwan has worked extensively in theatre, film and television both internationally and in her native Ireland. Film credits include; Oliver Twist with Richard Dreyfus and Elijah Wood and John Boorman’s Tailor of Panama and Bhopal – A Prayer for Rain due for release this year. In 2012 she adapted, produced and performed the critically acclaimed one woman play Beside the Sea at the South Bank Centre and on tour and starred in Goran Bregović’s new music drama, Margot, Diary Of An Unhappy Queen at the Barbican. She most recently performed in Ramin Gray’s production of Illusions by Ivan Viripaev at the Bush Theatre.

This production of Not I with Lisa Dwan was first performed at BAC in 2005, at the Southbank Centre in 2009 and the inaugural International Festival of Beckett in Enniskillen last year.

Not I is at the Royal Court Theatre 22-24 May in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs. Tickets £20 available online www.royalcourttheatre.com or from the Box Office 0207 565 5000. Public Booking opens Monday 15 April 9am online and 10am on phone and in person.

Listings Information:

Not I
By Samuel Beckett
Performed by Lisa Dwan
Wed 22 – Fri 24 May 2013 7.30pm
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AS
Age Guidance 14+
Tickets £20
Balcony and Restricted View £12
School and HE Groups of 8+ £10
Access £12 (plus a companion at the same rate)
All discounts are subject to availability.