Beckett Trilogy: Not I, Footfalls and Rockaby @ The Lowry, Salford, 23-27 Sep

There are few who dare to approach a Samuel Beckett play and even fewer who do his work justice, yet Lisa Dwan has attracted critical acclaim for her performance of not one, but three of his lesser-performed plays: Not I, Footfalls and Rockaby. Originally staged in London’s Royal Court (where the trilogy sold out before its opening night), Dwan brings all three performances to The Lowry for the only northern performance in a three-date UK tour, promising a Beckett experience like no other.

For those unfamiliar with Beckett’s work, Not I is an intense monologue, set in a pitch-black space lit by a single beam of light. A disembodied female mouth floats eight feet above the stage and delivers a stream of consciousness, spoken – as Beckett directed – at the speed of thought. Dwan was tutored in the role by Billie Whitelaw, who originally performed the part in its 1973 UK premiere – personally coached by Beckett himself.

Footfalls features the distant voice of ‘Mother,’ and May who paces back and forth like a metronome on a bare strip of floor; and Rockaby (probably the most famous of Beckett's last works), explores loneliness in the guise of a prematurely old woman dressed in an evening gown, sitting on a wooden rocking chair that moves independently.

In true Beckett style it is, of course, deliciously absurdist. Walter Asmus – Beckett's long-time friend and collaborator – directs, and by doing so not only presents the work of the Nobel Prize winner but a glimmer of the man himself. A must-see for both Beckett fans and theatre lovers alike – though I would imagine they are one and the same.