About Waiting For Godot

I have long had a love-hate relationship with Samuel Beckett’s play, Waiting For Godot. I first encountered it in university, and felt the immense agony that washed over me as I watched an adaptation of the production — a play that showed that life was tedious and meaningless isn’t terribly uplifting.

And yet, I was utterly charmed by Beckett’s eloquence — with few words, he articulates the pains of existing, the effort to get through the day as it wore on, and the fatigue of putting on an act of being when there really is nothing to be done.

Indeed, it is difficult to pin down a play as simple yet complex as Waiting For Godot — the play can be summarized in a sentence and yet is so much more.

Two tramps wait for Godot to come, and spoiler alert — he doesn’t show. The plot doesn’t matter, but the characters are full of heart and flesh out the nuances of day-to-day existence.

We follow Vladimir and Estragon (played by Neill Fleming and Patrick O’Donnell respectively) as they struggle with the boredom that comes with waiting – after all, “nothing is certain”, especially when you’re waiting for a person to save you or, perhaps, to put you out of your misery.

What To Expect

If you’ve read up to here, you’d know that this play is not for a “mainstream” audience. It delves into the dark recesses of human thought, questions the purpose of our existence, how we perceive reality, and ponders the point(less?) pursuit of knowledge.

The strong cast takes us through these bleak themes, bringing the brevity of Beckett to life — “Where are all these corpses from?” Vladimir says, as he gestures to the audience. His chemistry with Estragon leaps off the stage as every movement is perfectly timed and in sync with his partner. We share the frustrations of both Pozzo and Lucky (played by Paul Kealyn and Nick Devlin respectively), who appear to be in a toxic master-slave dynamic, from which there is no escape. 

Watching this play brings back memories, and I found myself mouthing the lines that I am most fond of — “We are all born mad, some remain so”. It is not every day that you are reminded that humanity is, at the core, full of wild and crazy ideas, and that being “normal” is an idea that we have created to keep away the thoughts we are afraid to reveal.

Final Thoughts

In some ways, Waiting For Godot deceives its audience into thinking that it is a depressing play, but the heart of this production lies Vladimir and Estragon, who give each other a hug to weather this storm.

The banality of life stretches on, but joy and solace can be found in kindness, generosity, and being there for your friends, even when they are at their worst. 

Final Rating: 8/10

Waiting for Godot is in theatres till 23 November 2014. You can get tickets for it here.

This post was brought to you by ABA Productions