The End

To The Traverse Theatre on Saturday night to see The End which is based on Beckett story of the same name.

It was one of those theatre experiences that just sears into the brain to stay there forever. Totally unforgettable. I've seen lots of Beckett but I reckon this was just about the best I have had the privilege of seeing. Wish my wee brother had been there, as we've seen a few Becketts together over the years.

It's a one man performance, by an actor chappie called Conor Lovett. And he was immense. He made it sound as if he was making it all up as he went along. Perfect timing. As if he was struggling to find the right words.  Simply incredible. I have never seen anything like it before. You just had no sense of him having done this before or told the same story before or indeed that he was acting.

A magical performance. Totally believable. Lovett is just superb. I could hardly breathe half the time as I watched him seemingly struggle for the next bit he wanted to tell us. And of course he had Beckett's dark sense of humour to help him along. It was very funny in parts and of course deeply tragic.

I just can't praise Conor Lovett enough. I spoke to him in the bar afterwards as he was on his own for a bit. He lives in France with his wife, who directs him.  He was telling me that there is a Beckett festival in Cork, Ireland on St Patrick's day, 17th March, when he is doing Molloy, Malone Dies and The Unnameable over 200 minutes, with two breaks. I'm very tempted to go.

If you ever get a chance to see him doing his Beckett, don't miss it. Unmissable. Satisfaction guaranteed.