Writing and Staging Play

Abstract

The archival turn in Beckett studies has revealed a wealth of material that, despite being discarded or reworked, remains a valuable source of information on Beckett’s modus operandi as a writer. This article examines the genesis of Play from the postcognitive angle of extended cognition, and demonstrates how the author’s mind, contrary to the generally accepted Cartesian internal-external opposition, extends beyond the boundaries of skin and skull and forms a hybrid cognitive system with the emerging text in the drafts. Influenced by a number of other external factors, including the play’s first performances, Play was shaped by an intense and continuous interaction between several environmental elements and can serve therefore as an example of extended cognition in creative writing.