Endgame, Beckett’s timeless rumination on the end of life, will feature two-time Tony Award winner Bill Irwin; and Play includes ACT company members René Augesen, Anthony Fusco and Annie Purcell.

Artistic director Carey Perloff, who previously directed Beckett's Waiting for Godot at ACT, will helm the production.

"It was in Endgame that Beckett famously wrote: 'nothing is funnier than unhappiness.' And, I cannot think of a more consummate artist than Bill Irwin to demonstrate that fact, undertaking the lead role of Hamm in this astonishing play," said Perloff in a statement. "I am thrilled to present Endgame in tandem with a comic gem from 1963 called Play, which will give our core company a chance to shine a spotlight on a hilarious tale of marriage and adultery that represents a very different side of Beckett’s oeuvre."

The limited engagement of Endgame and Play will continue through June 3, 2012.

The Beckett plays join a season that includes the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol; the Bay Area premiere of Lorenzo Pisoni's one-man show, Humor Abuse; the world premiere of Carey Perloff's award–winning new play Higher; the West Coast premiere of Middle Eastern playwright Wajdi Mouwad’s haunting play Scorched, featuring Emmy Award winner David Strathairn; the West Coast premiere of Jordan Harrison's Maple and Vine; and the Tony Award–nominated Kander and Ebb musical The Scottsboro Boys.

The American Conservatory Theater is located at 415 Geary Street in San Francisco, CA. For more information and tickets, call (415) 749-2250 or visit act-sf.org.