The student theater group Mountebanks presents “A Night of the Absurd,” featuring two plays from acclaimed Irish writer Samuel Beckett Friday, March 14 and Saturday March 15 at 8 p.m. in Breazzano House.
Both productions, which are free, will be directed by Mary Roberts ’09.
“Krapp’s Last Tape” is a one-man show that tells the story of Krapp (played by Victor Cardinali ’08), a 69-year-old failed writer who begins to listen to a tape he recorded during his thirties.
“Footfalls” introduces us to May (played by Regina Chiuminatto ’09), a haunted individual who converses with a lingering voice that is presumed to be her mother. The two carry on dialogue that simultaneously deals with the past and present. A highly dramatized May speaks in present time while the woman’s voice, played by Keegan Peters ’08, echoes from the past.
Born in Dublin, Beckett is a poet, dramatist and writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1969. He is also one of the key writers in what has been coined by play critic Martin Esslin as “Theatre of the Absurd.”
Founded in 1912, the Mountebanks is reported to be the oldest, continually-operating, student theater organization in the country. The word “Mountebank” literally means “mount-on-bench” and dates back to 16th-century Italy. It describes a traveler who, from a bench or platform, entertains his audience with stories, tricks and songs in the hopes that they might purchase pills, balsams, charms and quick medicines.
For more information, contact Keegan Peters at petersk2@union.edu.