Irish playwright Samuel Beckett was a man who weighed his words, a solitary, lonely figure obsessed by silence, whose works struggled to express the absurdity of life. One hundred years after his birth, his tragicomic plays stalked by a host of unforgettable, often grotesque, characters remain among the most important of 20th century theatre.
"There are only two kinds of people in the world: the Irish and those who wish they were." So goes one Irish adage. And on Friday millions will get a wish come true, with parades and parties marking St Patrick’s Day which, just like Irish immigrant communities, have spread to become a global excuse for a bit of <i>craic</i>, or fun.
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/ 1 February 2006
From the heights of the twisted external blue, red and green pipes which lace its futuristic glass facade, the bosses of the Pompidou Centre in Paris are eyeing new horizons to the East. In collaboration with other partners, the Pompidou is taking part in government-run competitions in Hong Kong and Singapore to build new museums of modern art.
Fast-evolving technologies and shifting family dynamics are forcing a rethink on furniture designers. Armed with new and surprising materials such as concrete, these designers are aiming to restyle our homes. The explosion of the latest must-have gadgets such as flat-screen televisions and home cinemas has raised the tricky question of just where we should put them.