Commitment to Beckett: Six-hour stream for Cork production of How It Is

Gare St Lazare Players filmed the final part of their trilogy at the Everyman, as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival

Fri, 01 Oct, 2021 - 20:00

Marjorie Brennan

When Judy Hegarty Lovett and Conor Lovett set out to stage the entire Beckett novel How It Is in 2015, little could they have envisaged that six years later they would be filming it in an empty theatre for a virtual audience.

The Cork couple, who comprise Gare St Lazare Players, were already renowned for their Beckett adaptations but the uncompromising and inventive stagings of How It Is, parts I and II, which were premiered at the Everyman Theatre in Cork in 2018 and 2019, brought the great writer’s work to a sublime new level.

Covid may have curbed their plans to stage all three parts live but they have pivoted admirably and instead the full novel has been reimagined for film to be streamed as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival. However, according to Conor Lovett, it is not the end of the journey by any means.

“I would say just this element is coming to fruition. I don’t think the journey is going to be at an end for a long time. We would still love to do the whole three parts live and we are aiming for that at some point,” he says.

While lockdown had its constraints, it also gave time and space to Lovett and co-star, the well-known English actor, Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones, The Tunnel, etc), to explore Beckett’s novel in even greater depth.

“Judy, Steve and I have been rehearsing for the past 18 months three times a week on Zoom. So, if anything, that has given us a familiarity with the text that has enriched what we have just done but also when it comes to performing live, we feel it will enrich that as well. The entire thing, with this amazing team, in this context, just makes me hungry to want to go and do it for a live audience. But you know, baby steps,” he laughs.

This production, under the direction of Judy Hegarty Lovett, was filmed over 10 days in the Everyman Theatre last month. Conor Lovett says it was wonderful to be back working with all the artists and crew involved, including sound designer Mel Mercier and a roster of musical talent.

“It was a really great reunion, that’s for sure. I guess we were chomping at the bit. We were hungry to get it out, the team was hungry to do it and so that energy is really present. You can see it with the musicians, Mel conducting and playing, the entire team, the joy of performing and creating. I think that will come through to the audiences as well, who are going to be equally hungry.”

Editing down the footage from six cameras, with takes that were often 10 to 20 minutes long, has been quite the challenge. The production is coming in at around six hours, which requires more than the usual commitment from audiences. Lovett says it is an opportunity to immerse themselves in a rare theatrical experience.

“We would recommend that audiences would embrace this as an event that doesn’t come along very often. This group of artists has got together to deliver an entire Beckett novel, with music, in a way that subverts the theatrical space and the theatrical form.

"It is the culmination of six years work on our part although, as I say, it is not finished. We are all used to binge-watching and moving on to the next episode so I don’t think anyone is going to be really put out by the idea of spending a long time in front of their screens.”

The first three performances are being streamed in real time to audiences and after that, the production is available on demand, with a 72- hour window to watch.

“We know already there are people who will be doing both. It is an event that doesn’t come along that often. The beauty of this is that elements of it can be viewed all around the country and the world,” says Lovett.

Bringing a production filmed in a Cork venue to the Dublin Theatre Festival was an added bonus, he says.

“We felt we had pulled off a coup when we sealed that element of it. A show performed on the Everyman stage, in the wings and in the auditorium, will be in Dublin Theatre Festival this year for the first time ever. That is kind of cool.”