Description:
Beckett's plays have attracted a striking range of disability performances - that is, performances that cast disabled actors, regardless of whether their roles are explicitly described as 'disabled' in the text. Grounded in the history of disability performance of Beckett's work and a new theorising of Beckett's treatment of the impaired body, Samuel Beckett and Disability Performance examines four contemporary disability performances of Beckett's plays, staged in the UK and US, and brings the rich fields of Beckett studies and disability studies into mutually illuminating conversation. Pairing original interviews with the actors and directors involved in these productions alongside critical analysis underpinned by recent disability and performance theory, this book explores how these productions emphasise or rework previously undetected indicators of disability in Beckett's work. More broadly, it reveals how Beckett's theatre compulsively interrogates alternative embodiments, unexpected forms of agency, and the extraordinary social interdependency of the human body.
Winner of the TaPRA David Bradby Monograph Prize, 2023.
Review Quotes:
"Simpson provides shrewd analyses of these productions in addition to interviews with individual practitioners; it is a valuable resource for those who work on Beckett and performance that will no doubt become essential reading. ... Simpson's work dexterously navigates the ethical and aesthetic implications of the questions she asks of Beckett's dramatic works, her prose expertly probing and synthesising an impressive array of sources. ... essential reading for anyone interested in the questions of Beckettian embodiment and performance ... ." (Jonathan McAllister, Journal of Beckett Studies, Vol. 33 (1), 2024)
"Hannah Simpson's Samuel Beckett and Disability Performance combines rigorous critical analysis with vital scholarship in a study that gives voice to the performers themselves through in-depth interviews. ... What makes this book shine, and offers a model for future academic studies on the arts and performance, is how Simpson includes interviews with the practitioners under discussion in each chapter ... . This complements Simpson's perceptive and rigorous analysis to make Samuel Beckett and Disability Studies an essential study." (Derval Tubridy, Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies, Vol. 18 (3), 2024)
"Samuel Beckett and Disability Performance deftly thinks through the complex disability politics in contemporary stagings of Beckett, with a particular attentiveness to the practices and experiences of disabled theatre artists. ... Her writing is bold, clear, confident, and at times enjoyably polemical in style and tone. The book evidences deep and sustained research, drawing on text, performance analysis and original interviews throughout." (David Brady, TaPRA, tapra.org, David Brady Monograph Prize Committee 2023)
"Simpson's own careful framing and analysis are enriched by interviews with key creatives involved in each production. This work is a key piece of literature not only for Beckett scholars, but also those interested in disability and theatre more broadly. Details like her interrogation of ethics and aesthetics or her clear, accessible lexicon of terms ... . The depth of her analysis throughout continues to affirm Simpson's status and one of the leading voices in studies of contemporary productions of Beckett's drama." (Catriona Fallow, The Year's Work in English Studies, Vol. 103 (1), 2024)
"Samuel Beckett and Disability Performance is the first book-length study of Samuel Beckett's theatrical work within a disability studies framework, bringing a new and highly pertinent perspective to Beckett studies. ... Each chapter is written as an independent unit, which makes them handy resources for anyone who wishes to learn more about a particular performance." (Einat Adar, The Beckett Circle, thebeckettcircle.org, October 19, 2023)