(RED BANK, NJ) -- Two River Theater is proud to present Tony Award-winning actor and master clown Bill Irwin in his one-man show On Beckett, running December 7-10, 2023 on the Joan and Robert M. Rechnitz stage.

“It is beyond thrilling to welcome Bill Irwin to Two River,” extolls Artistic Director Justin Waldman.  “Mr. Irwin is one of the titans of the stage and to witness him dance with the beautiful words of Samuel Beckett is the stuff dreams are made on. On Beckett is a theatrical feast not to be missed!”

"It’s a personal evening,” says Mr. Irwin. “An invitation to look at what's driven me this past decade: Both this great writer’s language, and looking for where his writing meets up with the great clown traditions — preoccupations of mine — and I want to share them. Mr. Beckett’s language is beautiful — sometimes harsh, sometimes confounding — but it's simple, direct language, with a character energy that calls an actor. I want to share it with Two River audiences — both revel in it, and shake my head at it — with them.”

After a lifetime captivated by Irish novelist Samuel Beckett, Bill Irwin conceived and performs his 90-minute show exploring a performer’s relationship to Beckett, mining the physical and verbal skills acquired in his years as a master clown and Tony Award-winning actor. Irwin’s approach to the comic, the tragic, to every side of Beckett’s work – including Waiting for Godot, Texts for Nothing, and more– will allow audiences to experience the language in compelling new ways. Whether you’re encountering the Nobel Prize winner’s writing for the first time, or building on a body of Beckett knowledge, this dynamic showcase is not to be missed. On Beckett is produced by Octopus Theatricals and premiered at Irish Repertory Theatre in New York City on October 3, 2018

Tickets will be available to subscribers via an exclusive presale October 16-21, and will go on sale to the general public on October 23. Tickets are $45-$90 and can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 732.345.1400 or visiting www.tworivertheater.org. 

New York Magazine describes the show as, “a delicious piece of theater… a playful, intimate experiment conducted by a master practitioner… utterly delightful.”

Bill Irwin (Creator, Director, Performer) is a Tony Award winning actor, director, writer, and clown. Original works include The Regard of Flight; Largely New York (Four Tony Nominations); Fool Moon; Old Hats, The Happiness Lecture; and others. He has played in many Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional stage productions, including, ON BECKETT, The Iceman Cometh, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play), The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?; Waiting For Godot (2009 for a Drama Desk Award nomination); Endgame; The Tempest; Texts for Nothing; Garden of Earthly Delights; Accidental Death of An Anarchist; Showboat – and the Tony Award winning Fool Moon, which he created with David Shiner and Nancy Harrington.

On television, Irwin appears as Mr. Noodle of “Elmo’s World” and Carey Loudermilk of “LEGION”. The Regard of Flight (PBS) he created with Doug Skinner, Michael O’Connor, and Nancy Harrington. Film credits include “Rachel Getting Married”, “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”, “Eight Men Out”, “Interstellar”, “Stepping Out”, “Unsilent Picture”, and more.

Irwin was an original member of Kraken, a theatre company directed by Herbert Blau, and was also an original member of the Pickle Family Circus of San Francisco with Larry Pisoni and Geoff Hoyle. Irwin is the grateful recipient of MacArthur, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships.

Octopus Theatricals (Producer) Founded by creative producer Mara Isaacs, Octopus Theatricals collaborates with artists and organizations to foster an expansive range of compelling theatrical works for local and global audiences. Current projects include: Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell (Broadway, 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical; Grammy Award, Best Musical Theater Album); Gabriel Byrne’s Walking with Ghosts (Broadway); Goddess created by Saheem Ali, Jocelyn Bioh and Michael Thurber; Bhangin’ It by Rehana Lew Mirza, MIke Lew and Sam Willlmott; Dreaming Zenzile by Somi Kakoma; (…Iphigenia), a new opera by Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding; In The Same Tongue created by choreographer Dianne McIntyre with music by Diedre Murray; The Social! Dance Club conceived by Steven Hoggett, Christine Jones & David Byrne; And So We Walked by DeLanna Studi; Theatre for One (in person and virtual) and many more. Octopus Theatricals is also home to the Producer Hub, an online resource supporting independent producers in the experimental and performing arts sectors.

Two River Theater produces American and world classics, new plays and musicals, programs for young people, and festivals of new work. Each year, we serve over 20,000 students, families and community members through our 4-6 show season, and 40+ events that reflect our diverse community of Monmouth County. Two River produces work on two stages—the 350-seat Joan and Robert Rechnitz Theater, and the flexible 110-seat Marion Huber Theater. In 2020 we expanded our campus to 80,000 square feet with the opening of the Center for New Work, Education and Design. Two River Theater has commissioned and premiered original projects including Be More Chill by Tony Award nominee Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz (the theater’s first Broadway production) and Hurricane Diane by former Playwright-in-Residence Madeleine George (which won an Obie Award for its Off-Broadway run), and  in June 2019, Two River was nationally recognized by USA TODAY as one of “10 great places to see a play.” Two River Theater is led by Artistic Director Justin Waldman and Managing Director Nora DeVeau-Rosen.

Two River Theater is supported in part by public support through the National Endowment for the Arts and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Private support includes the Achelis & Bodman Foundation, Citizens Philanthropic Foundation, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Helen Clay Frick Foundation, The Merrill G. and Emita E. Hastings Foundation, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, Investors Foundation, The Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, Manasquan Bank, Monmouth University, OceanFirst Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Springpoint Senior Living Foundation, Stolfe Zeigler New Jersey Family Law Group, The Stone Foundation of New Jersey, UMAMI Girl, Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey Home and Hospice Care, Zynergy Retirement Planning, and many other generous foundations, corporations and individuals.