Tony Award Winner Bill Irwin Returns with One-Man Absurdist Theater Masterclass On Beckett

Tony Award winner and MacArthur Fellow Bill Irwin will return with his award-winning show On Beckett. Conceived, written and performed by Irwin, On Beckett explores the writings of Waiting for Godot playwright Samuel Beckett. It will begin performances at Irish Repertory Theatre on the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage, on July 10, with an official opening night set for July 11. The limited run will conclude August 4.

In his intimate 90-minute show, Irwin will explore a performer’s relationship with Beckett, mining the physical and verbal skills acquired in his years as a master clown and actor. Irwin’s approach to the comic, the tragic and every side of Beckett’s work will allow audiences to experience the language in compelling new ways.

A versatile actor and professional clown, with degrees from both Oberlin College and Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, Irwin won a special Tony Award for Live Theatrical Presentation for his Fool Moon and a Tony Award for Best Actor for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and performed in Waiting for Godot on Broadway in 2009. He premiered On Beckett at the Irish Repertory Theatre in 2018.

The creative team for On Beckett includes set designer Charlie Corcoran, costume consultant Martha Hally, lighting designer Michael Gottlieb and sound designer M. Florian Staab.