ACT - A Beckett evening

The variety and multidisciplinary approach reflect the complexity of Beckett’s work and are at the same time an attempt to literally take apart this complexity. The triptych of Science, theatre and high-tech show, as in three acts, each a different facet of the diamond ‘Beckett’. They deepen each other’s experience: a particular way of performing brings a scientific insight to life and vice versa, a performative scenography zooms in on the underlying world of or perhaps after the actor and offers a more contemplative experience.

Beckett and science

Beckett’s work on technology, memory, the inner voice and the absurdity and violence of a meaningless existence, is close to key topics in neuroscience, psychology and philosophy. He was well aware of the scientific developments of his time, and these were reflected in his texts as well. On the occasion of this performance , Kris Verdonck invites an expert to shine their light on Beckett’s oeuvre from their perspective. Memory specialist Douwe Draaisma, mathematician and philosopher Jean-Paul Van Bendegem, philosopher of technology Jos de Mul and digital culture expert Elize de Mul are among on our list. Possible subjects could be: 

Beckett and memory: forgetting, remembering, the difficulty of language and of telling a story are returning elements. What would an important memory specialist like Douwe Draaisma have to say about this? For decades, Draaisma writes about the workings of human memory, in books like Why life speeds up when you get older, Metaphors of memory, Forgetting.

Beckett and neurology: various theatre texts and short prose pieces by Beckett present a figure living in the skull of the character. Is it our consciousness? Who or what is the voice speaking in our heads? Is there something like consciousness at all - and what would it be? The way Beckett objectifies the actor, is another occasion to invite a neurologist to reflect on the human as a machine. A machine that thinks? We will invite a renown neurosurgeon to delve deeper into these questions.