Beckett and Performance

The recent interest in genealogical criticism in Beckett Studies, fuelled by the reading notes that Beckett compiled in the 1920’s and 1930’s, has led to a particular focus on Beckett’s formative years, and on the intersections between his work, especially the novels and early criticism, and his intellectual reading. While this has produced much valuable and fascinating matrial, perhaps it is time to return to the works themselves, and especially, to the theatre. Having just published a book on Performing Embodiment in Samuel Beckett’s Drama (London, Routledge, 2010), I would like to develop further the area of presence and performance in Beckett’s theatre. Performance studies and phenomenology have offered new ways of approaching the ontology of performance in Beckett’s theatre, and I intend to analyze this, with particular reference to specific productions of Beckett’s plays. Firstly, I want to look at some of Beckett’s own comments about particular performances / productions (for example in the Barbara Bray correspondence, Trinity College Dublin), and, secondly, to analyze from the perspective / experience of an audience member a number of performances by (mainly Anglophone) ‘Beckett actors’, including Billie Whitelaw and David Warrilow. Drawing on recent discussions of presence and performance (Jane Goodall, Cormac Power), I will offer some reflections on the complexity of presence (of persona and performer, of body and voice) and its haunting power in performances of Beckett’s drama.

Larval development of the pedunculate barnacles Octolasmis angulata Aurivillius 1894 and Octolasmis cor Aurivillius 1892 (Cirripedia: Thoracica: Poecilasmatidae) from the gills of the mud crab, Scylla tranquebarica Fabricius, 1798

Detailed studies of larval development of Octolasmis angulata and Octolasmis cor are pivotal in understanding the larval morphological evolution as well as enhancing the functional ecology. Six planktotrophic naupliar stages and one non-feeding cyprid stage are documented in details for the first time for the two species of Octolasmis. Morphologically, the larvae of O. angulata and O. cor are similar in body size, setation patterns on the naupliar appendages, labrum, dorsal setae-pores, frontal horns, cyprid carapace, fronto-lateral gland pores, and lattice organs. Numbers of peculiarities were observed on the gnathobases of the antennae and mandible throughout the naupliar life-cycle. The setation pattern on the naupliar appendages are classified based on the segmentation on the naupliar appendages. The nauplius VI of both species undergoes a conspicuous change before metamorphosis into cyprid stage. The cyprid structures begin to form and modify beneath the naupliar body towards the end of stage VI. This study emphasises the importance of the pedunculate barnacle larval developmental studies not only to comprehend the larval morphological evolution but also to fill in the gaps in understanding the modification of the naupliar structures to adapt into the cyprid life-style.