What is it about?
This article looks at two plays Samuel Beckett that wrote in the 1960s (Happy Days and Play) and argues that far from being only concerned with the private sphere (the home, the heterosexual couple), they in fact relate to larger political concerns of the time (especially French colonialism. Reading the plays with the historical background of Algeria's war of independence is crucial to bring this political aspect to the fore.
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Why is it important?
Reading Beckett's work historically allows to highlight the politics of his work.
Perspectives
I wrote my PhD on Samuel Beckett's shorter plays, which I read with French philosophy. As a researcher interested in postcolonial and performance studies (in the decolonial potential of performance especially), it was important for me to revisit some of the plays I had previously worked on. Having this article published in the year of the 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence is symbolically important.
Hélène Lecossois
Université de Lille, France
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: La politique de l’intime, Samuel Beckett Today / Aujourd’hui, August 2022, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/18757405-03402014.
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