At the end of April Bulgaria will join in the world festivities marking the centenary of one of the age’s greatest playwrights, Nobel laureate for literature, Samuel Beckett.

Beckett on Film Festival, Cinema Center
Upon the initiative of Cinema Centre, and with the invaluable cooperation of the Embassy of Ireland, 19 films of famous Beckett plays will be screened in the Cinema Center between 27 April to 12 May. This series of plays were staged by Dublin’s Gate Theatre in the 1990s and then filmed by Irish company Tyrone Productions and Parallel Films, in collaboration with British Channel 4. The movies are directed by such directors as Neil Jordan, Anthony Minghella, David Mamet and starring such great actors as Jeremy Irons, Sir John Gielgud, Julianne Moore, Krsitin Scott Thomas, John Hurt, Alan Rickman, etc.
All these films will be shown only in Cinema Centre in the period 28/04-11/05.

Beckett Centenary Exhibition, National Library
A parallel event will be the ‘Beckett - a Centenary Celebration’ exhibition at the National Library from 27 April to 12 May. The exhibition commissioned by Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs will come to Sofia from Beckett’s old school, the Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, (where Oscar Wilde also studied). After Bulgaria, the exhibition will travel to Greece.

Beckett on stage, Theatre Sfumato
On the actual birthdate of 13 April, the Theatrical Studio Sfumato will stage Not I. Ivan Dobchev is the director. There will be another performance on 10 May.

Beckett Lecture, National Library
On 27 April, also in the National Library, Dr Ronan McDonald will give a lecture on Beckett’s life and work. Dr McDonald is Director of the Beckett International Foundation.