Dustbin Full Of ….. Actors

Walter Mc Donagh and Lionel Gallagher

Imagine a play where two of the four characters spend all their time in dustbins! No – it’s not something from the Muppets, just a play by Sam Beckett called “Endgame” which will be getting its North-Western premiere this coming week in Sligo.

It’s also the first theatre production to take place at The Venue, the pub in Strandhill where the Sligo Drama Circle will run it from Tuesday to Thursday and represents the 100th production in the group’s 25 year old history.

The play is a 90-minute one-acter about the dialogue between a blind cripple named Hamm, his “rapidly deteriorating servant” Clov and Hamm’s parents – they’re the ones living in the dustbins.

“It took about four readings before we could fathom what the play was all about”, admits Lionel Gallagher, who plays Clov. “Basically it’s about a world that’s running down like an unwound clock. There’s a fair bit of black humour and some pathetic but hilarious scenes, particularly between Hamm’s parents in their dustbins”.

The idea of putting on “Endgame” was the brainchild of local expatriate American Fred Zeterson, who persuaded the producer of the London version Peter Brecht to direct the Sligo production.

The Sligo Drama Circle, who have been prominent among the winners of All-Ireland amateur drama festivals over the years, put on four shows every summer in the town, as well as playing host to other visiting groups.

“The Irish Theatre Company are coming at the end of the month with Wesley Burrows’ new play”, says Damien Brennan, president of the Circle. “We’re also hoping to have the National Opera Company and maybe a north-western tour of “The Chastitute” in the autumn. And we have the Amateur Drama League convention coming up in October – so it’s something of a busy year”.

from The Sligo Weekender, August 1980