Correspondence Between Samuel Beckett and George Devine

This series of letters between playwright Samuel Beckett, producer George Devine, and the Lord Chamberlain’s Office demonstrate the conflicts that often occurred between playwrights and censors. Among the revisions prescribed here include a famous line from Endgame—“God doesn’t exist, the bastard!”—that offers “swine” as a substitution for “bastard.” After six months of negotiations and at the urging of his producer, Beckett agreed to the change, though he stated angrily that he refused “to play along any further with these licensing grocers.”

What our readers say

What is it like reading this play now? 

Reading this play now, it still feels relevant and powerful. Its exploration of the human condition and the struggle to find meaning in a chaotic world is timeless.

What other media or art does it remind you of? 

The play’s bleak and absurdist tone reminds me of films like “Eraserhead” and “Brazil,” while its exploration of the human condition brings to mind the music of Leonard Cohen.

If you like this play, you might also like…?

If you like this play, you might also like other works of absurdist theatre, such as “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” by Tom Stoppard or “The Bald Soprano” by Eugene Ionesco.