Director James MacDonald breathes new life into Samuel Beckett’s absurdist 1953 tragicomedy about two down at heel men waiting for a mysterious figure to appear, with a fresh and engaging interpretation that focuses more on the inherent humour within the play rather than just the disconsolate existentialism with which it is usually associated.
Opening to a dystopian landscape bereft of any positive discernible feature other than a leafless tree, we encounter Estragon/Gogo (Lucian Msamati) and Valdimir/Didi (Ben Whishaw), as they wait for Godot. Whilst their connection to each other is unstated, there is an endearing affection between them that pervades their ongoing conversations about something and nothing, which distracts from the obvious bleakness of their everyday lives.
The appearance of the tyrannical Pozzo (Jonathan Slinger) alongside his servant, Lucky (Tom Edden), provides a contrasting existence as we witness Pozzo’s brutality and Lucky’s abuse, that begins to make Vladimir and Estragon’s very existence seem almost normal although the appearance of Boy (Ellis Pang) makes it clear that nothing is what it may seem.
The following day offers the green shoots of hope, with Estragon and Vladimir revelling in the comedic sense as the master-slave coupling return to the scene, but the re-appearance of the Boy serves only to reinforce that this is a cycle they are condemned to repeating time and time again. The question is whether that is more preferable to other alternatives?
With its origins in the Theatre of the Absurd, a movement that emerged in post-World War II Europe, the original play – En Attendant Godot – was written in French, as Beckett resided in France, and his immediate experiences of the war through his involvement with the French resistance and the unfolding narrative that followed regarding the Holocaust resonate throughout the play: man has free will but the choices are futile in a world devoid of meaning. Beckett’s subsequent English language reworking was voted as the most significant English language play of the 20th century.
The ongoing relevance of the play can be seen from the landscape that sadly surrounds us today whether we look to the Ukraine or the Middle East, where events have exploded further this week in Syria, or closer to home where the consequences of the recent pandemic and the spiralling cost of living through energy crises have seen people turn more and more to extremism, both politically and socially.
Rae Smith’s set cleverly captures all the angles of this barren new world whose passage of time is marked only by Bruno Poet’s lighting casting shadows from the lifeless tree, whilst Smith’s costumes remind us that this is the world of today if we care to take a look out of the window from our own humdrum existence, marked by class and classlessness simultaneously.
Macdonald’s production subtly screams the lessons from history that we are destined to repeat because we do not heed them but also picks draws out the human factor at the heart of every tragedy which is the use of humour in any form to self-deprecate or lighten the moment: keep smiling and carry on, it could be worse.
And it’s the power of that comedy that makes this so watchable with impressive performances from the cast. Msamati is suitably gruff and earthy, his overalls hanging off his hips whilst Whishaw offers a more mercurial take with his jogging bottoms hoisted high up above his waist, and combined they are the perfect Laurel and Hardy, a comedy of opposites with routines bordering on the vaudeville right down to hat swapping. Thrust together by circumstances we can’t imagine – and perhaps don’t want to – and stuck together out of fear of being alone, they get the balance right throughout and kept me hoping for them long after the deserved applause had died down.
How do you follow, or rather accompany, a great double act? Well, by being equally superb. Slinger was every entitled elitist rolled into one, his self-belief riding high even when more troubled upon his return, whilst Edden’s clown-like pose was a veil for the downtrodden he represented, whose loyalty to the old order can never be called into question but beware if you give them the chance to speak. Under Lucy Hind’s superb choreography, they galloped on and off the stage and rightfully deserved their own applause.
This is a play to enjoy and a play to make one think, and boy, I’m still thinking…
Dating back to 1720, Theatre Royal Haymarket is the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Waiting for Godot performs through to 21st December 2024, further details and booking https://trh.co.uk/
Reviewer: Mark Davoren
Reviewed: 5th December 2024
North West End UK Rating: