Waiting for Godot – Theatre Royal Haymarket

Well, these are two very well-spoken “tramps”. A wired Didi (Ben Whishaw) jolts and flourishes across the space, amidst a more weighted, stony Gogo (Lucian Msamati). The two are equally as confounded as each other, torn between wavering uncertainty and resignation to the fact. As the title of the play reveals, they are waiting for Godot. In Beckett’s classic, we are not entirely sure who Godot is or why he is being waited for, and neither, as it seems, are the characters. 

Whishaw and Msamati play their respective characters so beautifully. It is like watching a dance – their responsivity and spontaneity is glorious, and they find musicality in the repetition. This much studied play has plenty of meat to chew on. The real juiciness of it, as brought out by Whishaw and Msamati is the look in their eyes – occasionally in prolonged moments, you see their denial, dread, and the dissipation of hope, that waiting for this random guy is pointless. They swiftly steal themselves away from this with some distraction or other so the realisation can never really sink in.

Whilst I haven’t read the text, James Macdonald’s direction makes it perfectly existential, absurd, and pretty funny too. The world seems to have parallels to ours, most comparative to a rural town in England. Didi and Gogo appear as scruffy “tramps”, and Pozzo is clad in shooting attire. There is both a spacelessness, and a rigidity of space within Rae Smith’s set. A rectangle of wavy ground sits elevated upon the stage, with grooves and natural textures as well as a thin tree off centre. It is fantastical in its naturalness, and the familiarity of the tramp-like characters, yet the bizarre happenings and memory loss, and stark lighting designed by Bruno Poet make it all feel like a surreal sci fi – like we are observing a huge cosmic joke being played on the characters or a study into human nature. 

Lucy Hinds’ movement direction was superb, I lost myself in the frenzied flow of Whishaw’s figure, as he dashed from thought to thought. The dynamic between the two had echoes of slapstick and clowning, particularly their physical interactions, but with an undertone of desperation. Their actions were so animated from the smallest anticipations to their outbursts. The sea-saw of emotions and topics, and the momentum with which they move and flow really gives the sense that these characters have spent an eternity together.

Tom Edden committed to the bit as the pitiable, drooling, Lucky with his empty-eyed stare and jerky movements. Jonathan Slinger played a ludicrous Pozzo, a man full of contradictions – needy and detached, superficial and deeply thoughtful. Pozzo’s randomness was not trivial, it all sculpted his strange, disconcerting character.

Watching this was like swimming in an existentially avoidant soup for 2 hours and 40 minutes, and despite the stellar performances, the play did feel long. Maybe this was intentional – to feel the characters’ ennui and waiting. 

Playing a limited season until December 2024, Home | Theatre Royal Haymarket – The Offical Website (trh.co.uk)

Reviewer: Riana Howarth

Reviewed: 23rd September 2024

North West End UK Rating: