In Dance First, Gabriel Byrne plays Samuel Beckett – with young Beckett played by Fionn O’Shea – in a sweeping account of the life of this 20th century icon. Parisian bon vivant, World War II resistance fighter, Nobel Prize-winning playwright, philandering husband and recluse, Samuel Beckett lived a life of many parts. In this playful film we see his life through his mistakes and fraught relationships with James Joyce (Aidan Gillen), his wife Suzanne (Sandrine Bonnaire) and his lover Barbara Bray (Maxine Peake).

With inventive direction by James Marsh (Man on Wire, The Theory of Everything), and an engagingly dry lead performance from Byrne in a dual role which sees Beckett engage in dialogue with himself, Dance First is an insightful exploration into the life and work of a literary genius.

There will be OC screenings at 18.20 on Tuesday 7th and 13.10 on Wednesday 8th.

Notes by David O’Mahony