OVERVIEW

• Playwright

  Samuel Beckett 

• Synopsis

  A 10-minute mime involving two players, 'A' and 'B', who are in two large sacks on the stage. Beckett specified 'violent' lighting and extended the notion by having the players prodded into action by a 'goad'. A is 'slow, awkward and absent' whereas B is 'brisk, rapid, precise'. A emerges slowly to set about his banal routine. Dishevelled and sulky, he eventually undresses and re-enters the sack. At this point, the goad prods B into action. He embarks on a more complicated routine, checking his watch and moving briskly to relocate the sacks on the stage before retiring back to his own sack. The goad, now on two wheels, awakens A and the cycle continues.

• Play Type

  Plays General
  

  Number Of Acts

  One Act

Cast size

• Male

  2

• Total

  2

Original Production

• Date of First Production

  14 June 1963

• Production Notes

  First performed with Spiel (Play)

• Venue Notes

  Performed at the Ulmer Theatre, Ulm-Donau.

Source Of Information

The information for this entry is taken from various published sources on Samuel Beckett.