Matthew Kelly Returns To Everyman Theatre

Award-winning director Lucy Pitman-Wallace has to deal with a man who can't stand up, and one who can't sit down, two legless parents, and a three-legged dog, a telescope, a ladder, and a fugitive rat…in this Beckett classic at the Liverpool Everyman from Friday 11 April until Saturday 3 May.

Matthew Kelly studied drama in Manchester and whilst there joined a theatre group where he met Julie Walters and Pete Postlethwaite. He came to Liverpool in the early 1970s and appeared regularly at the Everyman with not only Julie Walters and Pete Postlethwaite, but also Bill Nighy, Jonathan Pryce, George Costigan and Alison Steadman, becoming an integral part of the theatre's rich history. After many successful years on primetime television, Matthew returned to theatre in 2003 with his magnificent Olivier Award-winning performance of 'Lenny' in John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men (Savoy Theatre and UK tour including Liverpool Playhouse). Recent television work includes 'Mr Turveydrop' in BBC One's Bleak House and serial killer 'Brian Wicklow' in ITV1's Cold Blood.

Matthew Kelly is joined by his son Matthew Rixon (The Crucible at Bolton Octagon) as manservant 'Clov'. They last appeared together in Oh What A Lovely War at the Bolton Octagon in October 2007. Playing Hamm's legless, dustbin-bound parents are Ciaran McIntyre (In Celebration at Duke of York Theatre, Port Authority at Liverpool Everyman) as 'Nagg' and Tina Gray (The History Boys at National Theatre) as 'Nell'.

Samuel Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969; his literary output of plays, novels, stories and poetry has earned him an uncontested place as one of the greatest writers of our time. Endgame (1957), originally written in French and translated into English by Beckett himself, is considered by many critics to be his greatest single work for its raw minimalism and black humour. His other plays include Waiting for Godot (1949) and Happy Days (1960).

Director Lucy Pitman-Wallace, is a former Associate Director at the RSC. Her directing credits include Eastward Ho! which was performed as part of the RSC Swan Season, winning the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement of the Year 2003. She directed the revival of The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe for the RSC at Sadler's Wells (with Matthew Rixon in the cast), and has directed Beckett's other classic, Waiting For Godot and Gregory Burke's Unsecured at the National Theatre. Lucy is the artistic director of Three Legged Theatre Company for whom she has directed twelve productions. -- www.everymanplayhouse.com