In Venice, a Samuel Beckett novel becomes a live art event (for 6 hours, in a museum)

The theater company Gare St. Lazare Ireland and the cultural institution Berggruen Arts & Culture are presenting the world premiere of a live art event based on Samuel Beckett's novel "How it is" at Palazzo Diedo in Venice. The six-hour immersive performance, directed by Judy Hegarty Lovett, features actors Conor Lovett and Stephen Dillane, original compositions by Mel Mercier, and a visual installation by artist Michael Craig-Martin. The event runs until June 21, 2026, allowing visitors to enter and exit freely.

This event matters because it transforms Beckett's final novel—a fragmented, allegorical work about existence—into a site-specific, durational performance that blurs the boundaries between literature, theater, and visual art. By collaborating with a renowned visual artist like Michael Craig-Martin and staging the piece in a historic Venetian palazzo, the production highlights the growing trend of interdisciplinary live art that reimagines canonical texts for contemporary audiences. It also reinforces Venice's role as a hub for experimental cultural programming beyond the Biennale.