Waiting for Godot - Smock Alley Theatre Dublin until 23rd August 2014

From the Smock Alley Website

A country road. A tree.
Evening.
Vladimir and Estragon wait endlessly for the arrival of Godot, discussing religion, contemplating suicide and crotch rot in a comical wordplay of poetry, dreamscapes and nonsense.

A tradicomedy in Two Acts – Beckett’s play pioneered an expressionistic minimalism that captured the existential post World War II Europe and man’s inexhaustible search for meaning.
‘They give birth astride a grave, the light gleams an instant then its night once more’
This play remains one of the most beautiful and allegorical of our time.

http://smockalley.com/waiting-for-godot/


Smock Alley have the unfortunate task of putting on this play following the highly successful runs by Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart – any research brings you to these two gentlemen lording it up around the world with bowler hats akimbo and looking as thick as thieves. The chemistry between the two old friends is very hard to replicate by any production. However, in my mind I think this version is fabulous in it’s own right.

I went to see this play last night and I wasn’t disappointed with the performances of all involved. Although it is essentially a play where nothing happens, neither the players nor the audience can leave as they wait for something to happen or a resolution to the wait. There is the element of hope for all involved.

The players themselves were energetic and full of personality, every movement and expression was executed flawlessly; yet they gave nothing away. Their life story was as big a mystery at the end as it was at the start - we have no idea who or what they are waiting for, or why they are so unwilling to break the cycle of their daily toll.

The big characters that were being portrayed were in stark comparison to the minimalist set. The intimate setting of the stage and audience draws you in; you are so close it is almost as if you are there to pass the time with Gogo and Didi on the side of the road.

Beckett was not a traditional playwright, his plays are dark, bleak and encompass a dark humour – although comedic in places, this is not a lighthearted play and is hard work to follow, albeit enjoyable all the same and there were plenty of laughs along the way. Personally I physically found the performance exhausting to follow, as the players use the entire space meaning that the audience are forced to follow the dialogue from one side of the stage to the other – a theatrical game of tennis so to speak, as your eyes dart from each player as he speaks. This is however a unique space so the untraditional approach to staging fits in well with Beckett’s style.

This show is well worth a visit, especially for the price of the tickets.


As an aside, while doing a bit of research on other versions of the show I did come across this snippet from Youtube.


This fabulous Q&A with Sir Ian McKellen gives some insight into the play, his personal thoughts on the inspiration for the play and with some interaction from the audience he acquires some new perceptions.