Actor Barry McGovern to give reading of Samuel Beckett as part of Spotlight on the Arts 2014

As part of the UGA Spotlight on the Arts Festival, Barry McGovern, Irish stage, film and television actor, will give a reading of the poetry and prose of Samuel Beckett in a special appearance sponsored by the Consulate General of Ireland in Atlanta and the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts. This event is free and open to the public.

Barry McGovern has a long association with the work of Samuel Beckett. With the Gate Theatre in Dublin he has played Estragon and Vladimir in Waiting for Godot, Clov in Endgame and Willie in Happy Days. He has also played Lucky in Waiting for Godot, Krapp in Krapp’s Last Tape, Harry in Embers, Fox in Rough for Radio II, Words in Words and Music, and directed All That Fall.

McGovern’s recordings of the Beckett’s novels Molloy, Malone Dies and The Unnamable are available from rte.ie/shop. Currently on tour with the Gate Theatre Company in the United States, Barry McGovern plays Clov in Endgame and performs in a solo adaptation of Beckett’s novel, WATT, in a production described by The Guardian as “Quite simply outstanding. . . explosively funny.”

His one‐man show I’ll Go On (derived from Molloy, Malone Dies and The Unnamable) was produced by the Gate in 1985 and has played worldwide, most recently at the 2008 Lincoln Center Festival. His recent stage work includes Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Jane Eyre, Death of a Salesman, Arcadia, Gate Theatre; The Plough and the Stars, Abbey Theatre; Philadelphia Here I Come!, Gaiety Theatre; and Life is a Dream, Rough Magic. He has appeared in films including Joe Versus the Volcano, Braveheart, The General and Waiting for Godot (Beckett on Film).

Presented by the UGA Arts Council, the third annual Spotlight on the Arts features more than 60 events in the visual, literary and performing arts. The nine-day festival, scheduled for Nov. 6-14, includes museum tours, discussions with writers and concerts, including a free outdoor concert on College Square. For the complete schedule, see arts.uga.edu, and follow the Arts at UGA on Facebook or Twitter.