The bizarre circus is life itself

Beckett Performance in Greece (1960-2010) explores Samuel Beckett's creative endeavours as writer/director and situates the Greek performance history of his most renowned plays within the international reception. It contains an overview of interpretations that Waiting for Godot, Endgame and Happy Days have elicited, and analyses the plays from perspectives that account for their ongoing allure. The necessarily selective perusal of Greek productions traces the various meanings Beckett's elusive plays have unravelled at specific historical moments and ih different cultural contexts. This has also prompted a discussion of some contentious issues in Beckett studies. Should Beckett's paradoxical denial of the relation of his art to the empirical world be taken literally? Does minimum of compromise with the austere aesthetic detract from the plays' potential to maintain a subversive edge in twenty-first century performances? Beckett Performance in Greece (1960-2010) addresses these questions by looking at twenty Greek productions and the responses of directors, actors, critics and scholars. It also compares this diverse reception of Beckett's intricate writing for the stage to his own directions, and with other national receptions and appraisals in the international commentary.