“What are you waiting for?”
“We’re waiting…for Godot.”
Life hinges on asking questions. If we didn’t ask questions, we wouldn’t get anywhere in life. Playwright Samuel Beckett sussed this out when he wrote his surreal play, Waiting for Godot, in the 1940s. The play reflected the hopelessness and uncertainty in a post-WWII world, whilst the satirical banter between its characters giving it a strangely playful side. It was first performed in a tiny Parisian theatre in 1953 and was received very divisively. Understandably so, as the play asks many questions, and potentially leaves the audience asking even more. Today, however, Waiting for Godot is one of the most famous plays ever written, and has been widely regarded as a classic. I recently found out why.
At London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket, there is a stage upon a stage. The actors stand upon a section of barren countryside. There is nothing except Ben Whishaw’s Vladimir looking skyward next to a scraggy tree, and Lucian Msamati’s Estragon sitting on a rock missing a boot. What follows is an exceptionally thoughtful journey into both hopefulness yet hopelessness, and absurdity yet solemnity. The play centres on these two characters who have nothing waiting for a mysterious figure to arrive and give them something. Who is this character? What are they going to do? How do these two men know him? These are all questions left relatively unanswered, and instead the play explores the meaning of life, accepting the absurd, and why we might wait for something that may never come.
Admittedly, I knew very little about this play beforehand. In fact, I wasn’t familiar with any of Samuel Beckett’s work beforehand. Interestingly, I would’ve described the plot of the play the exact same way before watching it as I would after. It isn’t, effectively, about anything in particular. The enjoyment comes from watching the performances and absorbing the conversations. What initially attracted me was Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati. Their chemistry and comedic timing carries the majority of the 2 hour and 45 minute runtime. Whishaw’s youthful look and intentionally child-like Vladimir contrasts perfectly to Msamati’s more begrudged, clueless Estragon. If anything, Waiting for Godot proves the two actors are certainly amongst the British greats. Msamati was especially magnetic with his comedic timing and delivery. One such moment occurred when he approached the front of the platform, overhanging the front of the stage, just as some latecomers entered the stalls. Before delivering his line, he stared at them and disappointedly shook his head, gave his line, and there was an instantaneous applause.
Another such moment of audience elation came during a moment with visiting characters Lucky and Pozzo, played by Tom Edden and Jonathan Slinger, respectively. The two pass by Vladimir and Estragon several times in the play, Pozzo a privileged, foppish individual who leads the non-verbal Lucky around on a rope, seemingly to serve him as a slave. When Lucky is told to ‘think’ amongst other actions, a hilariously lengthy, meandering monologue follows about God, man, Earth, whilst the other characters wander cluelessly around the stage waiting for it to end. Once it is abruptly ended by Vladimir, the audience once again applauded. As such, Edden’s performance was notable for its reliance on physicality, generating some particularly hilarious moments when interacting with the other characters. Slinger as Pozzo was also exceptional, seamlessly slipping between his pompous persona and a more regular one to convey some vulnerability to the character. Whether Lucky and Pozzo are reflections of Vladimir and Estragon is certainly implied, but never blatantly obvious. Both pairs of men rely on each other for survival, and are seemingly two sides of the same coin. Their relationships are never defined, as they threaten to leave each other several times, yet rely on each other for companionship as well as survival.
Initially, I thought that writing about Waiting for Godot would be difficult, but now that I have, I can fully appreciate the play’s timeless themes and iconic characters. Never have I been so entranced by such a minimal play, nor have I ever both laughed and reflected in concurrence. This is mainly thanks to Whishaw and Msamati’s extraordinary performances which will certainly go down as one of the best in the play’s history. Waiting for Godot is a play that reminds me why I love going to the theatre and the craft of acting. It relies on so little yet requires so much, allowing the audience to fully appreciate a cast who are well and truly in their element.
G does Films 