A chara, – Much has recently been written concerning Gabriel Rosenstock’s great translations of Samuel Beckett’s work (Life Culture, April 10th). Somehow the impression has been created that this is the first time that such a thing has happened to this great writer’s work.
I would like to remind your readers that Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe produced what is perhaps Beckett’s most famous play;Waiting for Godot (Ag fanacht le Godot) in 1971 in Galway and in the Peacock in Dublin, and again by unprecedented public acclaim in February of 1972.
The play was translated by the late professor Liam O Briain of UCG from the original French, (with the Lucky speech translated by the late Sean O Carra). Direction was by Alan Simpson who, though he had not a word of Irish, could tell if even a séimhiú was left out due to his uncanny ear for Becketts language (he had introduced Beckett’s work to Ireland with Caroline Swift in the Pike theatre some twenty years earlier).
The cast included the late Cyril Mahoney as Vladimir, Tom Kenny of Kenny’s famous bookshop in Galway as Estragon, Michael Hannon as Lucky and yours truly as Pozzo. The young boy was played by Martin Shaughnessy. A tape of the production was sent by TK to Beckett (who had little or no Irish) in Paris and he replied that he was delighted and astounded at the accuracy of the rhythm and intonation in the production, and opined that it had translated better from the original French than from English. – Is mise,
DICK BYRNE (RISTEARD
O BROIN)
Craughwell, Co Galway.