The Cork-based theatre company Gare St Lazare has staged a six-hour performance of Samuel Beckett’s 1964 novel *How It Is* in Venice, marking the first time the work has been adapted for the stage. The production took place over recent weeks in the Palazzo Diedo, a historic five-storey building on a Venetian canal that dates back to 1721. Once a noble family residence, the Palazzo later served as a courthouse and school before falling into disrepair; it has since been restored and now functions as a gallery managed by the Berggruen Arts & Culture foundation.

*How It Is* is considered one of Beckett’s most challenging texts, written as a continuous 170-page monologue without punctuation. The novel conveys the internal thoughts of an unnamed character living underground, attempting to order the fragmented experiences of a long, arduous life. The staging in Venice embraces the text’s demands, with two actors—Conor Lovett and Stephen Dillane—sharing the narration and inhabiting Beckett’s elusive voice. Judy Hegarty Lovett, Gare St Lazare’s director and Conor Lovett’s wife, noted that the company first began rehearsing the piece in 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed their plans, but the eventual production drew on years of preparation.

The minimalist set, designed by artist Michael Craig-Martin, featured four long magenta boxes placed on a matching floor, creating an abstract stage environment. During the performance, the actors moved among the audience and through adjoining rooms in the Palazzo, fostering an intimate and immersive atmosphere. Intermittently, they opened windows and curtains to allow sounds from Venice’s streets and canals to drift into the space, blending the city’s ambiance with Beckett’s dense prose.

The production included two extended intervals, with the total run time reaching six hours. Despite the length and complexity of the text, audience members engaged deeply with the performance, some choosing to lie down or follow the actors from room to room. Repeated phrases such as “vast tracts of time” served as anchors within the swirling narrative, providing moments of familiarity amid the novel’s challenging structure.

Throughout the staging, the company emphasized the meditative and rhythmic qualities of Beckett’s writing, transforming the internal monologue into a “heartbeat” that fluctuated between the authentic, the relentless, and the occasionally humorous. The actors’ commitment to memorizing and delivering the demanding text was described as a rigorous undertaking, becoming, in director Hegarty Lovett’s words, “like a muscle” developed over years.

Audience members expressed a willingness to remain for the full duration, with no desire to shorten the experience, reflecting the production’s ability to sustain interest despite its formidable challenge. The performance stands as a testament to both the endurance of Beckett’s work and Gare St Lazare’s dedication to exploring his difficult texts in innovative, theatrical ways.