What Where (12 minutes)
The director is Damien O'Donnell, the young Dubliner whose first feature film, East is East, was a major critical and commercial success and recently won the BAFTA award for Best British Film of 1999. The actors are Sean McGinley and Gary Lewis, and the production designer is Tom Conroy. "Damien has made it more powerful than it's ever been on stage," says Michael Colgan. "Samuel Beckett's nephew, Edward, saw it and he thought it had more of an impact than it ever had on stage."
Endgame (84 minutes)
Michael Gambon and David Thewlis are "extraordinary" as Hamm and Clov, says Colgan, and the cast is completed by Charles Simon and Jean Anderson, both of them 92 years old, as the two people in the dustbins. The film is directed by Conor McPherson, who scripted the Irish movie, I Went Down, and recently turned film director with Salwater, adapted from his own stage play, This Lime Tree Bower.
Breath (45 seconds)
There are no characters, just a pile of rubbish, and the director is the artist, Damien Hirst. "He's a mate of mine," says Moloney. "He got a bit nervous because he didn't want to misrepresent Beckett. A lot of the directors felt like that."
Not I (15 minutes)
Neil Jordan directs Julianne Moore, the American actress who was nominated for an Oscar this year for her performance in his film, The End of the Affair, and lighting cameraman Roger Pratt who also received an Oscar nomination for his work on that film. "Neil filmed it in one take every time," says Moloney. "At the end of the first take the entire crew applauded, which I've never seen happen before on a film set."
Footfalls (27 minutes).
Susan Fitzgerald plays May, a role she has played on stage in Dublin, London and New York. The director is Walter Asmus, who was Beckett's favourite director and who has directed the play for the theatre and for German television.
Act Without Words I (22 minutes)
Karel Reisz, who made Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and The French Lieutenant's Woman, directs his first film in 10 years. Man is played by the renowned mime artist, John Foley. The music is by Michael Nyman.
Krapp's Last Tape (55 minutes)
Atom Egoyan, the Canadian filmmaker whose many distinguished credits include Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter and Felicia's Journey, directs. Krapp is played by John Hurt, whose performance in the role earned him rave reviews when the play was staged in London recently. The film was shot over three days last month at Ardmore Studios in Bray, Co Wicklow. Colgan has signed Egoyan to direct Pinter's The Homecoming at the Gate Theatre next year.
Catastrophe (16 minutes)
A true heavyweight production. The playwright and film-maker, David Mamet, directs a cast consisting of Harold Pinter, the playwright whose most recent acting role was in Mansfield Park; Rebecca Pidgeon, who is married to Mamet and has featured in many of his films; and the venerable John Gielgud who is now 96 and, Colgan says, has decided that this will be his final acting role. "It brings together three of the great playwrights of the last century," Colgan adds. "Beckett was a great influence on Pinter, and Pinter was a great influence on Mamet." The film was shot in an old music hall in London over two days last month.
See details of the 11 plays yet to be filmed on Weekend 4
Come and Go (six minutes).
"We have it on offer to a major director at present and we hope to have a decision soon," says Colgan. "The casting will be up to the director."
Ohio Impromptu (15 minutes).
Jeremy Irons is committed to appearing in the film of this play. No director or shooting date is set yet.
That Time (15 minutes).
Director and actor yet to be finalised.
A Piece of Monologue (27 minutes).
Shooting is scheduled for May 22nd. It will feature the established Irish stage actor, Stephen Brennan, as Speaker. It will be directed by Robin Lefevre, whose many credits include the recent Gate production of A Streetcar Named Desire, which featured Frances McDormand, Liam Cunningham and Donna Dent, and the television series, Jake's Progress, written by Alan Bleasdale.
Play (20 minutes).
The director is Anthony Minghella, whose film of The English Patient received nine Oscars, including best picture and best director, and whose most recent movie is the seductive Patricia Highsmith adaptation, The Talented Mr Ripley. He has assembled a remarkably strong cast comprising Juliet Stevenson, Kristin Scott Thomas and Alan Rickman. "Anthony first directed Play when he was a student," Colgan adds. Shooting begins in London on May 22nd.
Waiting For Godot (132 minutes excluding interval).
Walter Asmus, who has completed the film of Foot- falls (see above) will direct, and Colgan hopes to re-assemble the Irish cast who played it at the Gate - Barry McGovern, Johnny Murphy, Stephen Brennan and Alan Stanford. Shooting begins in midJune.
Rockaby (12 minutes).
The accomplished British theatre and film director, Richard Eyre, will be at the helm. The actress to play Woman has yet to be cast.
Act Without Words II (nine minutes).
The director is Enda Hughes, the resourceful young Armagh filmmaker who made the low-budget feature, The Eliminator, and the award-winning short film, Flying Saucer Rock'n'Roll. Casting will be finalised shortly for the shoot which begins on May 29th.
Rough For Theatre I (19 minutes).
This will be directed by another bright young Irish film-maker, Kieron J. Walsh, who is now in postproduction on the Roddy Doyle-scripted romantic comedy feature, Stolen Nights (also known as When Brendan Met Trudy). Casting is about to be finalised and the film will be shot towards the end of this month.
Rough For Theatre II (30 minutes).
The director and cast have yet to be set.
Happy Days (102 minutes excluding interval).
The director is Patricia Rozema, the Canadian film-maker who made a remarkable debut with I've Heard the Mermaids Singing and followed it with the underrated White Room. Her latest film is the radical Jane Austen adaptation, Mansfield Park. Rosaleen Linehan will play Winnie, a role she has played many times on the stage. The role of Willie has yet to be cast. Shooting gets underway in Dublin on June 5th.