Julian Beck’s Final Performance: A Haunting Beckett ‘That Time’ Directed by Gerald Thomas

In the final year of his life, avant-garde theatre icon Julian Beck delivered a poignant performance in Samuel Beckett’s That Time, directed by Gerald Thomas at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York City. This production, a collaboration between three prominent figures of the experimental theatre world, marked a significant moment in Beck’s career and a powerful exploration of trauma, memory, and mortality.

A Collaboration of Visionaries

Gerald Thomas, a theatre and opera director and playwright, brought together Beck, along with George Bartenieff and Fred Neumann, for a series of American premieres by Beckett.¹ The production featured three short Beckett plays: That Time, Theater I, and Theater II. Thomas, who had previously worked with Beckett in Paris adapting new fiction, was establishing himself as a key figure in the downtown theatre scene.¹

That Time: A Spectral Performance

Beckett’s That Time, as described in the play’s text, features an actor portrayed as a “spectral image,” speaking in three different voices.¹ Julian Beck, already weakened by cancer, was considered ideal for this role. He was hoisted onto a slanted black platform, lit only from the face, creating the illusion of floating in space. Beck pre-recorded his lines, with hiccups edited out, delivering a performance that was both haunting and emotionally resonant.¹

Themes of Trauma and Memory

The play’s repeated refrain, “that time,” evokes a sense of fragmented memory and unspoken trauma. The article suggests that Beckett’s work, emerging after World War II, grapples with the inarticulable horrors of war, a trauma often suppressed in the postwar era.¹ The play doesn’t explicitly detail the event, but focuses on its lingering impact, mirroring the experience of those haunted by past experiences.

Beckett and Beck: Complementary Artists

Despite their differing worldviews, Beckett and Beck were seen as complementary artists, both drawn to the extreme and the unknown. Both artists, influenced by Antonin Artaud, pushed the boundaries of theatrical form to explore profound themes of existence and the human condition.¹

A Final Act

This performance of That Time was one of Beck’s last. He continued to work, taking on roles in film and television to secure financial stability for his collaborators at The Living Theater after his death.¹ He died shortly after returning from a European tour that included performances in Munich, leaving behind a legacy of radical experimentation and powerful performance.