Play It Again Samuel
Tags: David Gothard, Frank Sidebottom, Neil Pearson, Rehearsing: Samuel Beckett
David Gothard with actor , writer, and bibliophile Neil Pearson
Work on the installation of Stephen Willats’ exhibition stopped briefly today when theatre Director David Gothard introduced us to actor and writer Neil Pearson. Neil is well known for his “day job” in film, theatre and TV but he is also obsessed by books and is the author of Obelisk: A History of Jack Kahane and the Obelisk Press. Kahane was a British novelist based in Paris who established the Obelisk Press when his own publisher was declared bankrupt; Obelisk went on to publish the likes of Henry Miller, Anais Nin, James Joyce and Lawrence Durrell.
Samuel Beckett directing rehearsals with the San Quentin Prison Drama workshop at the Riverside Studios
Neil has taken an interest in David Gothard’s remarkable archive which has been the basis for two exhibitions at CHELSEA space - Rehearsing: Samuel Beckett, and Jazzonia and the Harlem Renaissance. Both of these exhibitions relate to Gothard’s time as the Artistic Director of the Riverside Studios, a period when Beckett would be rehearsing in the theatre, Bruce Mclean was working alongside Will Alsop as Riverside’s artist and architect in residence respectively, the likes of Anselm Kiefer and Nancy Spero were showing in the gallery and John Latham’s Artists Placement Group (APG) were based at the top of the building.
Rehearsing: Samuel Beckett was our 7th exhibition and concerned the interesting story of Beckett and the San Quentin Prison Drama Workshop. Beckett loved the idea of his work being performed by long term prison inmates and as the performer/prisoners were gradually released they kept the group going under the directorship of ex-con Rick Cluchey. Cluchey approached Beckett to direct the rehearsals for a world tour starting in Dublin. Samuel Beckett responded by saying he would love to direct the rehearsals but there was no way he would go to Ireland, and so his relationship with David Gothard and the Riverside Studios began.
Although the rehearsals were conducted in London, there were no actual performances in the UK and so CHELSEA space’s Donald Smith decided that the Beckett show should be an essay in Rehearsing and the exhibition became a backdrop to a series of rehearsals and improvisations from Pablo Bronstein, John Tilbury, Sean McDowell, Gaby Agis, David Toop, David Ryan, Eddie Farrell, Adrian Shaw, and the late great Chris Sievey AKA Frank Sidebottom.
