The Millsaps Players are scheduled to perform, “Have You Observed Nothing?” an evening of Beckett shorts, April 16-19 in the Christian Center. Performances start at 7:30 p.m. April 16-18 and at 2 p.m. on April 19.
Pieces will include Rough for Theatre I, Ohio Impromptu, Play, Not I, and Breath. Ted Ammon, professor of philosophy at Millsaps, will discuss Samuel Beckett after each performance.
The Irish playwright Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) is unquestionably one of the most important writers of the 20th Century and perhaps its greatest dramatist. The unconventionality of Beckett's work has drawn monumental praise as well as scathing condemnation because his settings seem unfamiliar, his characters undeveloped, his plots non-existent, his overall meaning incomprehensible.
"At the core of Beckett’s work, however is the most tenacious focus on the human condition that one is likely to find in all of literature," said Ammon. Beckett has been called an “absurdist” and hence lumped together with a number of other dramatists including Harold Pinter, Edward Albee, Eugene Ionesco, Jean Genet and others who supposedly propose that existence is inherently absurd. He has been called an existentialist, and a minimalist.
"But never mind these labels," Ammon said. "One has to experience Beckett on his own terms in the theatre in order to feel the power of his work, and then the labels then slowly dissipate and become irrelevant," he said.
We invite you to experience Beckett.
Cost is $10 for general admission, and $8 for seniors and students. Tickets are available at the box office one hour before each show. Credit cards and debit cards will be accepted at the box office. For more information, call 601-974-1422.
