CONTEXT INTERRUPTED: SAMUEL BECKETT IN CZECH BETWEEN 1964–1996 AND JAN NEBESKÝ’S ENDGAME (1996)

The focus of the study is the 1996 production of Samuel Beckett’s Endgame, directed by Jan Nebeský. The study attempts to reconstruct the interrupted context regarding Beckett’s reception in the Czech environment. The first part situates Samuel Beckett within the Czech theatre and culture, particularly his Waiting for Godot. The second part looks at productions of the play between 1964 and 1991. The last part presents Jan Nebeský’s production and his approach to the text, which he often intersperses with other textual fragments through which he reveals the interpretative layers of text. In Endgame, he explores the theme of salvation.