Gare St Lazare Ireland Masterclass

First Encounter With Beckett

We were honoured to welcome Judy & Conor Lovett of  Gare St Lazare Ireland to Blue Teapot in February to deliver a three day Masterclass, introducing our ensemble to the work of Samuel Beckett. Gare St Lazare Ireland are internationally recognised as the ‘unparalleled Beckett champions’ and leaders in the staging of Samuel Beckett’s plays and non-dramatic prose texts. Through collaborative and innovative theatre performances, they give audiences new ways in to Beckett’s work.

Here’s what Judy & Conor had to say about their time with our actors

“We had been hearing wonderful things about Blue Teapot Theatre Company for several years and we were delighted finally to go to Galway to see for ourselves the miraculous nature of the ensemble.  It was a great pleasure to be hosted and to meet and work with the actors.  Each one of them brings a unique and special quality which, combined into the dynamic spirit of the company, and with the support of a brilliant team, makes for a very powerful experience for folks like us coming to play with them.

The ideas, themes, responses, comments and suggestions, have enriched Gare St Lazare immeasurably.  At Blue Teapot,  there is a great sense of respect from each member towards the team and from the team towards each member.  Acting on the stage requires an understanding and a capacity for doing many things at once.  Perhaps the most important quality required is a sense of listening properly; to each other, to the audience and to the writing that you have chosen to perform, whether a play, someone’s personal story or an improvisation.

In our opinion,  Blue Teapot’s skillset, individually and collectively, on and offstage, is as strong as that of any company working in Ireland today. They should all be very proud and we fellow actors, theatre-makers, audiences and funders should be equally proud.  We should also be ready to engage, to go and see the work and to support them at every level.  Thanks for giving us such a great welcome and we look forward to coming back soon”.

We’can’t wait to welcome them both back again for a’ second encounter’ later this year.