Arts Over Borders will hold open rehearsals of the first Ulster-Scots translation of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot on March 28 at the Playhouse theatre and March 29 at Ulster University in Derry/Londonderry. The production receives support from Ulster University and the Department for the Economy.

Frank Ferguson of Ulster University completed the translation. He serves as Research Director for English Language and Literature there.

Ferguson stated that the Ulster-Scots language requires preservation, similar to the play's characters awaiting Godot, blending comic wordplay with pathos of loss.

Seán Doran, artistic director, said the public rehearsals will enable audiences to engage with the translation. He added that Ferguson will adjust the final version based on feedback for performances around Sir Antony Gormley's Tree for Waiting for Godot across Northern Ireland from early summer. Doran noted plans for a US tour in autumn linked to the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.

Three signatories to the Declaration were Ulster-Scots immigrants. The translation connects to the play's references to the 1890s when Ulster-Scots was common in rural north-east Ireland.

Arts Over Borders launched the Samuel Beckett Biennale last weekend with the premiere of Krapp's Last Tape. The biennale presents Beckett's works in locations tied to his life across Ireland and Great Britain over a year. It partners with groups including Ulster University and the Beckett International Foundation at Reading University.

The biennale follows the Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival, which ran from 2012 to 2022.