In their tenth year, the hardworking team at shake & stir seemingly have another classic production up their sleeves.
Their latest venture ‘Endgame’ is a Samuel Beckett absurdist play, which was written and first performed back in the 1950s. Beckett is considered one of the most renowned playwrights of the absurd theatre era, with ‘Endgame’ regarded as one of his most influential, and famous works.
Though as with many “theatre of the absurd” performances, ‘Endgame’ is a dark and depressive exploration into the existential thoughts that plague human nature. The play focuses in on main character Hamm, who, while unable to stand or see, manages to wreak havoc among the characters. For Hamm and the other three characters, death is nearing, and the play follows them as they await and reflect upon their own mortality.
‘Endgame’ is set in just one room, and follows no real structured plot or storyline, one of the key features in absurd theatre. “Because it’s Beckett, there’s no real structure. Even just knowing what happens next and getting lines down - because its nonsensical - is not as easy as a scene where you’re having a conversation and a question has an obvious answer,” says Queensland theatre favourite Leon Cain, who plays Hamm’s son and sidekick Clov.
“[In ‘Endgame’] you don’t have that to rely on, so it’ll be a bit of work… For me, even though I do think it will be a challenge, I thought that being able to do a Beckett [play], at least once, is ticking off another box and another challenge for me.” Digging this absurdist genre out in celebration of the Brisbane-based theatre company’s tenth year is undoubtedly a new horizon for the company to undertake. Not only that, but ‘Endgame’ is the first shake & stir production which they’ve not starred in themselves. But Beckett, and in fact much of the absurdist genre, rarely surfaces in modern theatres. “It will be very different to a lot of other plays that people see, as there’s not much Beckett that gets done. ‘Waiting for Godot’ (another famous Beckett play) gets done a fair bit, as it’s quite popular,” Leon says.
“I don’t think I’ve heard of Beckett being done for a couple of years… so it’ll be really great for people who haven’t seen a Beckett to see a Beckett.” And for those who’ve yet to see an absurd theatre performance, or a Beckett play for that matter, Leon can only encourage you to come along.
With a cast of Australian and Queensland veteran actors including Robert Coleby, Jennifer Flowers and John McNeil, this Beckett rejuvenation will reach a new emotional connection and relatability with theatre lovers. “It’s about what the audience take from it, instead of being a story where we speak to the audience. It’s more about everyone’s own interpretation, as there’s some things that we can’t force.
“It gives you a really different reaction to a lot of other plays, because it’s more about absorbing the overall emotion, and sitting in their world. It can come across as a little bit bleak and a bit dark for a lot of it - I mean the setting alone and the fact that there’s nothing really happening - but there’s a lot of reminiscing, stories and sad moments to it and a kind of hopelessness to it. So I don’t think you’d leave the theatre laughing or anything.”
shake & stir’s ‘Endgame’ plays at QPAC's Cremorne Theatre from 9-20 August.
