Gare St. Lazare Players Ireland Pay Homage to Samuel Beckett at Keene State College's Redfern Arts Center
KEENE, N.H., 10/12/11 - The Redfern Arts Center on Brickyard Pond at Keene State College continues its 30th anniversary season with Gare St. Lazare Players Ireland arriving in Keene for a mesmerizing one-man theatrical adaption of The End, a short story by Samuel Beckett. Masterful storyteller Conor Lovett performs this remarkable story with insight and wry Irish wit at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 26, in the Alumni Recital Hall. Tickets range from $23 to $12. To order tickets and for more information, contact the Box Office at 603-358-2168 or visit www.keene.edu/racbp.
Conor Lovett will join KSC Professor William Stroup’s English Literary Analysis class for a discussion on Samuel Beckett and the story The End at noon, Wednesday, October 26, in the Harry Davis Room of the Redfern Arts Center. This talk is free and open to the public.
Patrons and the general public are invited to join Judy Hegarty Lovett, co- artistic director of Gare St. Lazare Players Ireland, during an informal Meet and Greet in the lobby between 6:30 and 7 p.m. prior to the October 26 performance. Light refreshments will be served. Conor Lovett will also remain after the performance for a question and answer session moderated by Redfern’s new director Shannon R. Mayers and Professor Stroup.
Judy Hegarty Lovett and Conor Lovett, Gare St. Lazare Players’ joint artistic directors, have a mission to increase the global Irish footprint and this comes alive in their adaptation of Beckett’s The End. Lovett portrays an intimate portrait of a nameless old man cast aside by his caretakers and struggling to find a measure of grace at the end of his life. Lovett, considered by many to be the definitive Beckett performer, brings this one man tour de force to life, while Judy Hegarty Lovett’s innovative direction is typical of a company renowned for their ability to expose the compassion, humor and integrity of Beckett’s work.
The Irish Times said of The End, “Conor Lovett’s command of the stage…is so apparently effortless as to be relaxing, except that with Samuel Beckett one can never relax. With The End the result is comedy, sly and biting…to actual merriment.”
Lovett said of performing Beckett’s work “The End has become one of my favorite pieces to perform. As always with Beckett we knew we just had to let the words be heard, respect the rhythms of the language and allow the audience to meet this man standing before them. Beckett would and did take care of the rest. The End is in my view is one of Beckett’s most successful works because it is a perfectly judged balancing of the tragic and the comic though it is entirely absent of sentimentality.”
Sharon Fantl, Events Manager at the Redfern Arts Center, was deeply moved by Lovett’s portrayal of Beckett’s dark comedy. “Lovett reveals the core of a story in his delivery… I felt as if he were totally immersed in his role, and was speaking to me personally. The experience was very intimate and emotional. In a quiet, uninterrupted space I had the opportunity to really consider this other individual’s life and relate to it.”
Over the past 14 years Gare St Lazare Players Ireland has established an international reputation for artistic excellence. Gare St. Lazare has built a repertoire of Beckett works including 10 novels, numerous short stories and prose works, seven radio plays and one solo play. The collaborative output of joint artistic directors Judy Hegarty Lovett (director) and Conor Lovett (actor) has consistently received plaudits for entirely accessible and faithful renditions of Beckett’s prose that highlight equally the humanity and humor inherent in the work of the Nobel Prize-winning author.
About Redfern Arts Center on Brickyard Pond 30th Anniversary
The Arts Center is named in honor of Dr. Leo F. Redfern, Keene State College (KSC) President from 1969 to 1979 for his vision, commitment, and eloquence on behalf of the arts that made funding and construction of the facility a reality. In 1981, KSC inaugurated this new performing arts center, with the goal of providing unforgettable artistic encounters for the campus and community. Since then, the Redfern stage has hosted hundreds of amazing shows, from internationally renowned artists to emerging young talents to KSC’s own student performers.
Over the years, the Redfern has expanded its outreach programs and community partnerships, becoming an indispensible resource for the Keene community and beyond. An exhibit celebrating the Art Center’s 30th anniversary is currently on display in the Redfern lobby. The exhibit includes articles and photos of the ground breaking and construction of the Arts Center as well as posters and photographs of performances through the years by the Music, Theater and Dance, and Art departments. Visit www.keene.edu/racbp for more information on the season and to purchase tickets.
About Keene State College
Founded in 1909, Keene State College is one of the most preeminent public liberal arts colleges in the nation. With more than 40 programs of study, including a new nursing program and the nation’s only baccalaureate degree program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Keene State College prepares students to think critically, act creatively, and serve the greater good. Keene State College: Wisdom to make a difference.
