July 2019 Academic & Specialist Anthem Press

Anthem Studies in Theatre and Performance

Dialogues on Beckett: Whatever Happened to God? Antoni Libera, Janusz Pyda, translated by Agnieszka Kolakowska

Anthem Studies in Theatre and Performance

Dialogues on Beckett: Whatever Happened to God?
Antoni Libera, Janusz Pyda, translated by Agnieszka Kolakowska


Hardback | Feb 2019 | Anthem Press | 9781783088942 | 194pp | 228x152mm | RFB | AUD$115.00, NZD$222.00

Dialogues on Beckett is a collection of 12 conversations about 12 plays by Samuel Beckett, discussions about the meaning of life and the universe between an agnostic and a Christian, based on a close reading of the text. It is also based on the thesis that Beckett's main concern in his plays is Christian theology or, more broadly, the religious interpretation of the world. All his plays are an argument with that interpretation: in particular, they question the idea of theodicy and the philosophy of consolation. 

The aim of Dialogues on Beckett is to make the reader aware of this essential theme in the playwright's work, to interpret it in this light and to show his original approach to the subject. Beckett argues that we live in a post-Christian era. But for him this knowledge is no reason for joy: rather, it is a source of sadness, fear and even despair.