Not I by Samuel Beckett (Under the Radar 2020)

See it if you love this script, or Beckett, or are interested in what exploring difference from a physical norm can say about all of us.

Don't see it if seeing a performer in extremis (both physically & verbally) might trigger a bad reaction in you.

Also I’ve known the text of Beckett’s “Not I” since before it was performed: In 1972 a friend of his gave me a photocopy of his typescript for a class she was teaching. It’s become my 2nd-favorite Beckett play. For female mouth & her cloaked auditor, it’s almost surely his most radical. He said a successful production must bypass a spectator’s intellect & work through the nerves. I’ve seen about 6 productions, 2 of them revelatory. Here the mouth belongs to Jess Thom, a young woman with Tourette’s, subject to unbidden verbal & physical tics; her auditor (a brilliant stroke) is a sign language interpreter. The night consists of Jess’s introductory talk, a performance of “Not I” (a 15-minute torrent of words, a theme & variations telling an old woman’s life story), then a short film about the project, audience discussion, a group venting, optional post-performance chat with Jess. I was fully enthralled throughout & now understand this extraordinary work neurologically as I had never before.... Read more Read less

See it if Jess Thom performs Not I, followed by a video contextualizing the production and advocating for neurodiverse approaches to theater.

Don't see it if Not sure why ya wouldn't. This version brings so much out of Beckett's canonical text.