Five new short plays, including author commentaries, from female and non-binary writers of Irish heritage in response to Samuel Beckett. What does Irish heritage mean to members of the modern-day diaspora? Global playwrights Olwen Fouéré, Jennifer Barclay, FELISPEAKS, Nicola McCartney and Hannah Khalil make their mark with five unique pieces loosely inspired by seeds from the Beckett canon. Originally staged for the international Not Beckett festival 2024-25, a festival created by writers Hannah Khalil and Jennifer Barclay to expand on the idea of what Irishness looks and sounds like. Premiering in October 2024 at London's Jermyn Street Theatre, the plays were then staged internationally with partners on the project: The Samuel Beckett Research Centre in Reading, the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York, Fishamble in Dublin in collaboration with the Lir Academy, and Villanova University in Philadelphia, PA, amongst others. Each short play provides an ideal vehicle for students and readers to further explore the artistic influence of Samuel Beckett's work through a modern-day, multicultural lens. The collection is introduced by Dr Matthew McFrederick, Co-Director of the Beckett International Foundation at the University of Reading, who considers the plays in the anthology and their impact. duet by Olwen Fouéré Never Apologize by Jennifer Barclay WAIT; by FELISPEAKS I CAN'T REMEMBER THE by Nicola McCartney The Lighthouse Keeper's Son by Hannah Khalil Olwen Fouéré is an actor and creative artist who works internationally in English and in French. In 2024 Olwen performed opposite Hugo Weaving in The President (Dir. Tom Creed), a co-production between Sydney Theatre Company and The Gate Theatre, Dublin. Her most recent stage work includes her solo performances of iGirl by Marina Carr at the Abbey Theatre in October 2021; the role of Winter in The Last Season by Force Majeure (Sydney Arts Festival 2021); the role of Mother in Marina Carr's adaptation of Blood Wedding by Lorca (Young Vic Theatre,London, 2019); “Nous l'Europe, Banquet des Peuples” written by Prix Goncourt winner Laurent Gaudé and directed by Roland Auzet for the Avignon Festival 2019; the role of 3 in Ballyturk written and directed by Enda Walsh (Abbey Theatre, Dublin and St Ann's Warehouse, New York 2018) and Unwoman III by Melbourne based company The Rabble (Dublin 2018). Jennifer Barclay is a Chicago-bred and DC-based actor-turned-playwright who holds dual citizenship with the United States and Ireland. Her play Ripe Frenzy won the National New Play Network (NNPN) Smith Prize for Political Theatre and the Dramatists Guild Fund Writers Alliance Grant. Jennifer's plays have been produced and developed by Steppenwolf, La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, RedCat, The Kennedy Center, Center Stage, Roundhouse Theatre, Signature Theatre, Mosaic Theatre, Solas Nua, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Co, Andy's Summer Playhouse, American Blues Theatre, Fishamble (Dublin), The International Theatre of Vienna and The Edinburgh Fringe, among others. Other awards include: Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award, Kennedy Center National Science Playwriting Award, Pinter Review Gold Medal, BETC New Generations Award. Jennifer has had fellowships at the MacDowell Colony, the New Harmony Project, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Hawthornden International Writers Retreat in Scotland. She has been a playwright in residence at South Coast Rep (Shank Playwright in Residence), Center Stage (Playwrights Collective) and Arena Stage (Playwrights Arena). FELISPEAKS is a Nigerian-Irish Poet, Performer, Playwright from Co. Longford currently based in Dublin City. FELISPEAKS has been nominated 'Best Performer' by Dublin Fringe Festival September 2018 and went on to win 'Best Performer' in 2022. As well as being a Member of the Poetry Ireland Board of Directors appointed June 2020, Felicia is a member of the Poetry Collective, WeAreGriot. FELISPEAKS is an Artist-in-Residence with Axis Ballymun and Visual Carlow, in addition to being an Associate Artist with THISISPOPBABY. FELISPEAKS' poem: 'For Our Mothers' is in the English Ordinary Level Leaving Cert Curriculum for examination year 2023 and 2025, as is their poem “Rainbow Blood” for 2025. In 2020, FELISPEAKS was commissioned a new piece for RTÉ's The Big Picture on the theme of 'the New Normal' - this poem, entitled Still captured the minds of the nation and has been performed to audiences all over the country. Of late, FELISPEAKS has been commissioned by the Irish Repertory Theatre and Fishamble: The New Play Company for the Transatlantic Commission for Black Irish Artists. FELISPEAKS ended 2021 as an Irish Tatler Woman of the Year with a win in the Catalyst Category - which recognises a woman who has affected change in Irish society in a pivotal way. FELISPEAKS became an ambassador for Laya Health Care's Beats TV and Media Campaign. Nicola McCartney is a playwright, director and dramaturg