A NEW play inspired by the work of Samuel Beckett will have its world premiere at the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival in Belfast on May 7.

Written by Jane Coyle and directed by Rhiann Jeffrey, Both Sides comprises two interlocking monologues, Me Here, Me and Before Before, set in Paris and Nice respectively.

Me Here, Me was first performed at the Beckett Paris Festival in March 2016 and then at last year's Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival. It has since been expanded and is now joined by a sequel, Before Before, to make a double-header, featuring Hannah Coyle as Stella and Libby Smyth as Estelle.

"After Me Here, Me people were asking about this young woman and how her unhappy situation came about," says Coyle.

"I hadn't intended to write a second piece but suddenly a voice came to me from her past. The title Before Before echoes a line from the first piece and shifts the focus onto a woman from Belfast, who has lived in France for many years.

"Audiences have had fun spotting the Beckett references in the text. Some are obvious, others less so."

Both Sides will debut at The Dark Horse in Hill Street, Belfast, before going on a short tour of the north during early September.

:: Tickets on sale now via CQAF.com