beckett speaks, 1987

I'm not allowed explore intelligible [Applause] in current level [Music] in 1987 Beckett collaborated on an American television version of his last play what where he reviewed the evolving production periodically on videotape and in a departure from his usual camera shyness allowed these sessions to be taped for the camcorder the resulting footage provides a real opportunity to see the playwright at work the idea was brilliant - to work it out to get him to look at the play and make some sort of final adjustments since those adjustments had to be made anyway for a video production so that kind of direct input which was by this time 1987 or so is really the last theater work that he ever did so historically I mean this work is extraordinarily important are you free yes taken away and given the works until he confesses what must he confess and he said what is that all [Music] [Music] well nothing he didn't say no he didn't say what no Beckett had written what where in 1983 but almost immediately after it premiered on stage he began rewriting it for German television [Music] [Music] he knew he was dissatisfied with the for several reasons but he didn't have a complete plan for how to work it out he went over to Germany to Stuttgart and worked with his favorite cameraman over there Jim Lewis who had worked on numerous productions and they worked out together how to turn this stage play into a video production well one of the really important things that Sam knew is that the image of the voice out of the past of the voice of Bamm which on stage was a sort of hanging megaphone was completely inappropriate it was confusing anyway and they settled on this very distorted view very distorted image of a Bamm that Beckett kept calling a death mask one of the interesting things about Beckett even in his in approaching his 80th birthday he was an incurable tinkerer with his own work because the other ones were right and many of these excellent lineage which you are there [Music] without me you

Channel: 2birdsswimming

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Keywords: Beckett interview

Id: 1ohAssRQsjM

Length: 6min 11sec (371 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 06 2009