Writing plays like Samuel Beckett

Today we celebrate the birthday of the famous Irish playwright and poet Samuel Beckett.

Beckett was born in Dublin, before moving to Paris where he began his career as a poet, playwright, and later a theatre director.

His most famous piece of writing is probably his 1953 play Waiting for Godot. The play follows two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, as they wait for their friend Godot to arrive.

Waiting for Godot is a good example of a special kind of play called a 'two hander'. This is a play that only has two main characters and almost all of the dialogue comes from them.

Placing restrictions on yourself when you are writing is a fun way to challenge yourself and make your stories more interesting.

Why don't you try writing your own short two-hander play like Samuel Beckett did? You can even include an 'unseen character' like Godot, someone who is important to the plot but never actually appears.

Some ideas for the story could be a brother and sister trying to clean the house before their mum gets home, or two dogs looking for a stick that their owner has thrown for them.

Once you've written your play, you could perform it for your friends and family!