Everything you need to know ahead of the opening of Endgame at The Old Vic on the 27th of January - this is not a show to be missed.
From the 27th of January, The Old Vic will be playing host to Endgame: a spectacular Beckettian double-bill. Shown alongside the playwright’s lesser-known short play Rough For Theatre II, Endgame will star Alan Cumming (Emma, GoldenEye) as the character of Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe (of Harry Potter fame) in the role of Clov. An absurdist comedy, Endgame promises elements of dystopia in its existential commentary, and drama in the tension wrought between its principal characters.
Alan Cumming in Endgame at The Old Vic
Set famously in a bare room with only two windows and a pair of dustbins, designer Stewart Laing has the task of evoking Beckett’s lively but deadened world. With lighting by Adam Silverman too, these creative components will be key in lifting Endgame from page to stage. Historically, this production boasts a stellar cast list: Michael Gambon, Miriam Margolyes and Mark Rylance, among others. Equally prolific directors have been at its helm over the years - some such names include Conor McPherson and Complicite’s Simon McBurney, with Roger Blin having headed its premiere at the Royal Court in 1957.
Originally written and staged in French (with the title Fin de Partie), it was only later that Beckett translated the play into English. Even 60 years on, its apocalyptic nature holds a particular resonance with today’s climate, which has now been recognised as having entered a global crisis. Written prior to Waiting For Godot, Beckett’s most well-known play, it is Endgame – with its threads of futurism and episodes of non-meaning – that is said to be his most treasured piece of work.
Performing alongside members of the venue’s company in Rough For Theatre II, Cumming (as B) and Radcliffe (A) will tread further into Beckett’s fascination with the human condition. Here, two men discuss the fate of another – a man also present, but who never speaks. Running until the 28th of March, this uncanny production looks set to sell-out fast, fuelled as it is by incredible star-power.
Tickets from £23.80, subject to high demand.
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