Dance First Trailer Previews Samuel Beckett Biopic

Magnolia Pictures has released the trailer for Dance First, an upcoming biographical film about celebrated playwright Samuel Beckett. The feature, set to arrive on August 9, is named after Beckett’s ethos, “Dance first, think later.”

Dance First is directed by Academy Award winner James Marsh, who is no stranger to helming features based on a real-life person. He directed the 2014 Eddie Redmayne-led The Theory of Everything and the 2008 documentary movie Man on Wire. The film is written by Neil Forsyth.

You can watch the trailer down below (watch more trailers):

What happens in the Dance First trailer?

The trailer highlights Beckett’s past and present, from his younger years to his ascent to prominence. The upcoming biopic is set to center on the “many parts” of Beckett’s life, with Gabriel Byrne (The Usual Suspects) starring as the 20th-century’s playwright. 

The official synopsis for Dance First reads: “Literary genius Samuel Beckett (Byrne) lived a life of many parts: Parisian bon vivant, WWII Resistance fighter, Nobel Prize-winning playwright, philandering husband, recluse. But despite all the adulation that came his way, he was a man acutely aware of his own failings. Titled after Beckett’s famous ethos ‘Dance first, think later,’ the film is a sweeping account of the life of this 20th-century icon.”

In addition to Byrne, Dance First also stars  Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones), Maxine Peake (The Theory of Everything), Fionn O’Shea (Normal People), and Sandrine Bonnaire (Vagabond). The film’s producers include Michael Livingstone, Viktória Petrányi, and Tom Thostrup, with Paul Ashton, Philip Edgar-Jones, Forsyth, Richard Mansell, Jasmin Morrison, and Julia Stuart as executive producers. 

Dance First will open in New York City at the Angelika Film Center and in Los Angeles at The Laemmle Monica Film Center on August 9. It will then hit digital platforms on August 16.