No Author Better Served (Harvard University Press)

He claimed he couldn't talk about his work, but Samuel Beckett proves remarkably forthcoming in this text, which documents the 30-year working relationship between the playwright and Alan Schneider, his principal producer in the United States. The correpsondence between Beckett and Schneider offers a picture of the art and craft of theatre in the hands of two masters. Alan Schneider premiered five of Beckett's plays in the USA, including "Waiting for Godot", "Krapp's Last Tape", and "Endgame", and directed a number of revivals. Preparing for each new production, the two wrote extensive letters - about intended tone, conception of characters, irony and verbal echoes, staging details for scenes, and delivery of individual lines. From such details a sense of the playwright's vision emerges, as well as a feel for the director's task. The correspondence starts in December 1955, shortly after their first meeting, and continues to Schneider's accidental death in March 1984 (when crossing a street to mail a letter to Beckett). The 500 letters featured capture the world of theatre as well as the personalities of their authors.