Lying Low

by Stephen Wakelam

Samuel Beckett's mysterious three-week stay in Folkestone in March 1961. The playwright checks deliberately into a quiet hotel under a pseudonym and it's here that he befriends Janet who works part-time at the hotel while studying for her French A-level. They bond over an Agatha Christie novel. This burgeoning friendship tests Janet's loyalties, presenting her with a dilemma she needs to resolve.

This clever blend of fact and fantasy is inspired by the three weeks Samuel Beckett spent in Folkestone prior to his marrying his long-term partner, Suzanne Deschevaux-Dumesnil. He checked into the Bristol Hotel on Folkestone Leas under the pseudonym, Mr S Barclay, instructing his close friends to keep absolutely quiet about his whereabouts.

Audiobook

Published September 22, 2017

About the author

Stephen Wakelam is an English writer and playwright born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire.[1] After Cambridge University, he was an English Teacher and Head of Department in South Yorkshire until he became a full-time writer in 1976.[1] He was Young Writers' Tutor at the Royal Court Theatre from 1981-1984 and then tutored young playwrights at the National Theatre Studio in the 1990s.[1] He has written over forty performed plays, at first mainly in television then primarily on radio.[1] His subjects are almost exclusively biographical, covering a broad range of interests. Wakelam was The Royal Literary Society Writer in Residence at Universities in Leeds and Kent, 2009-12.[1] From January 2015 he is Writer in Residence at St Cuthbert's Society, Durham.[1]

Reviews

[Anton Segers · Rating 3 out of 5]

BBC-hoorspel naar de theatertekst over een ontmoeting tussen Samuel Beckett en een jonge studente toen hij incognito in Brighton logeerde.
Heeft discrete charme, intrigeert, maar laat veel mysterie over, zoals Becketts werk overigens.