Samuel Beckett: Teleplays

Samuel Beckett's reputation as a theatrical and literary artist has been well established since his play Waiting for Godot was first pro­duced in Paris in 1957. In the years since, Beckett has continued to produce equally significant plays and prose, but less well-known are his works for film, radio and television. The exhibition Samuel Beckett: Teleplays focuses on this aspect of his career, including eight works written, and in some cases directed, by Beckett for film and television.  

Most of Beckett's film and television work has not been seen in North America outside of occasional screenings in universities and colleges. Samuel Beckett: Teleplays marks the North American public premiere of six of these productions.  

Organized in two programs present6ed simultaneously in adjacent viewing areas, this exhibition includes several stylistically distinct groups of works: the Evergreen Theatre productions of the 1960s directed by Alan Schneider in New York; the British Broadcasting Corporation productions of the 1970s; and the more recent Suddeutscher Rundfunk productions directed by Beckett himself in Stuttgart.  

Samuel Beckett: Teleplays is accompanied by an eighty page illustrated catalogue that includes essays by the curator Stan Douglas, Beckett scholar Linda Ben-Zvi and poet Clark Coolidge. Also included is a bibliography of Beckett on film and video, a portfolio of stills and a never-before published version of Beckett's last play What Where.  

Curated by Stan Douglas, the exhibition has been financially supported by the Canada Council and the Government of British Columbia, and organized circulated by the Vancouver Art Gallery.