Photos: First Look at Bill Irwin, John Douglas Thompson & More in ENDGAME at Irish Repertory Theatre

Endgame, Nobel Prize-winning playwright Samuel Beckett's (1906-1989) favorite play, is a tragicomedy of epic proportions. Written in a macabre intensity of mood, it represents the playwright's fierce declaration of oblivion in a world populated with its last survivors. The play, about the end of everything, moves inexorably to its own conclusion, with its own humor bursting out of the bounds of Beckett's dark account of the Earth's last whimper. The production at Irish Repertory Theatre, now in previews, opens on February 2nd, runs through March 12!

Get a first look at photos below!

Endgame tells the story of Hamm (John Douglas Thompson), who is reduced to living in one room, in which he sits, blind and chair bound. His only escape from his solitary world is the company of his aging, legless parents (Joe Grifasi and Patrice Johnson), who live in garbage bins, and his shuffling servant, Clov (Bill Irwin), who is at his beck and call, and who, like a dog, comes when whistled for. The only thing left for Hamm is to wait for the inevitable end.

A pinnacle of Beckett's characteristic raw minimalism, Endgame is a pure and devastating distillation of the human essence in the face of approaching death. "Nothing is funnier than unhappiness" invokes Nell, which summarizes the tragicomic nature of this timeless play.

Endgame features set design by Charlie Corcoran (The Butcher Boy), costume design by Orla Long (The Butcher Boy), lighting design by Michael Gottlieb (A Touch of the Poet), sound design by M. Florian Staab (The Butcher Boy), and properties by Deirdre Brennan (The Dead, 1904). Jeff Davolt (Autumn Royal) serves as Production Stage Manager with Giselle Raphaela as Assistant Stage Manager.

Photo credit: Carol Rosegg