Michael Gambon stars in the World Premiere Production of the extraordinary Beckett drama EH JOE, for 30 performances only at the Duke of York's Theatre.
'A magnificent piece of acting...a towering performance by Michael Gambon'
– Irish Times
Celebrating the centenary of Samuel Beckett and following a sell-out season at the Gate Theatre, Dublin, the astonishing EH JOE is an unmissable 30 minutes of theatrical invention. Originally devised for TV and transformed for the stage by director Atom Egoyan, EH JOE 'remains a staggering work and the ultimate drama' (Alastair Macaulay, Financial Times) and is in London for 3 weeks only.
Joe sits in his room sealed off from the world. A voice lures him to examine the shards of his rough life. As he wordlessly contemplates the voice's accusations, the entire wave of human emotion is captured on camera. The astonishing visual image and the voice's spoken word entwine together in a mesmerising tour de force.
'There's love for you?. Isn't it, Joe?? Wasn't it, Joe?'
"EH JOE" also features the voice of Penelope Wilton and is directed by Atom Egoyan, with set design by Eileen Diss, costume design by Leonore McDonagh and lighting by James McConnell.
Michael Gambon's other theatre credits include premieres of Harold Pinter's Betrayal and Mountain Language; Skylight, The Life of Galileo and Henry V (Parts I & II) at the National Theatre; Macbeth, Othello and Coriolanus at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre; and Otherwise Engaged, The Norman Conquests, Just Between Ouselves, Old Times, Unexpected Man, Cressida and The Caretaker in the West End. His TV credits include The Singing Detective, Wives and Daughters and The Lost Prince and films include The Cook, The Theif, His Wife and Her Lover, The Insider, The Last September, Dancing at Lughnasa and The Actors. His most recent work was The Life Aquatic and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He is currently working on The Good Shepherd, directed by Robert de Niro.
Penelope Wilton has appeared in the Pinter Festivals at the Gate Theatre Dublin and also in New York's Lincoln Center (for which she won the Irish Theatre Award for Best Actress for Pinter's A Kind of Alaska). She also appeared in the West End in the Gate's production of Afterplay by Brian Friel. Her other theatre credits include the first production of Pinter's Betrayal and a revival of Landscape at the National Theatre, The Philanthropist and West of Suez at the Royal Court, The Deep Blue Sea at the Almeida, The Seagull at the RSC, Long Day's Journey Into Night at the Young Vic and A Kind Of Alaska a the Donmar Warehouse. Her most recent appearance was in Women Beware Women at the Swan Theatre Stratford. Her television and film credits include Falling, The Deep Blue Sea, Landscape (directed by Pinter), Alan Bennett's Talking Heads, Calendar Girls, The French Lieutenant's Woman and Cry Freedom.
Atom Egoyan has produced a body of work in film, television, and theatre. He has won numerous prizes at international film festivals including the Grand Prix and International Critics Awards from the Cannes Film Festival and two Academy Award nominations. He was President of the Jury at the 2003 Berlin International Film Festival. His production of Wagner's "Die Walk?re" was performed by the Canadian Opera Company in April 2004 and will be remounted in Autumn 2006. His latest film, "Where The Truth Lies", had its world premiere in Official Competition at the 2005 Cannes International Film Festival, and its North American premiere as a Gala Screening at the Toronto International Film Festival last year.
The Gate Theatre was established in 1928 and introduced Irish audiences to the world of avant-garde and contemporary theatre. In those 78 years there have only been two artistic directorates, with Michael Colgan taking the helm in 1983. The Gate has developed a unique relationship with many playwrights, including Samuel Beckett, Brian Friel and Harold Pinter, and has produced a number of Festivals celebrating their work. This ground-breaking production of "EH JOE" by Samuel Beckett was part of the recent Beckett Centenary Festival. The Gate joined forces with the Barbican Centre London as part of bite 06 to present a selection of Samuel Beckett plays, simultaneously in Dublin and London.
Sonia Friedman Productions and The Gate Theatre have collaborated on many productions both in the West End and on Broadway, including "Celebration" by Harold Pinter, "Afterplay" by Brian Friel, "Krapp's Last Tape" by Samuel Beckett, "See You Next Tuesday" by Ronald Harwood and "The Home Place", also by Brian Friel. Together they are currently producing the critically acclaimed production of "Faith Healer" by Brian Friel in New York, starring Ralph Fiennes, Cherry Jones and Ian McDiarmid, directed by Jonathan Kent. "Faith Healer" has just received 4 Tony Award nominations.