Review: Waiting for Godot

By Laura Stratford

Before reading the review listen to our exclusive preview now on the ((URY PLAYER)) here!

Autumn leaves scatter the floor of the stage. A tree naked of leaves stands in the corner. Estragon faces us sitting on a wooden stump whilst Vladimir faces the wall. Estragon pulls at his boot, but gives up and says the opening line, 'Nothing to be done'.

'Waiting for Godot', Samuel Beckett's most famous play, is essentially a play where nothing occurs. It tells the tale of Vladimir and Estragon, two homeless men who painfully spend their days in monotony waiting for a man called Godot. During their wait, they meet the grandiose Pozzo, a man clinging on to a sense of his self-importance with the company of his man-servant, Lucky. Twice over the course of the two acts a young boy comes to announce that Godot, in effect Vladimir and Estragon's leader, will eventually arrive the next day. Unfortunately, that's not the case, which is leaves them considering suicide on several occasions. After that plan fails, they decide to leave for good, yet we see them in the last moments rooted to the floor.

From the beginning, the chemistry, timing and fast-paced dialogue between the characters is superb. Rory Hern is great as Vladimir, in his Charlie Chaplin-esque appearance and mime-like movements. Nick Devlin, plays well the quieter, exasperated and boot-less partner, who joins him in the endless wait. Pozzo, played by Pete Watts comes close to stealing the show with his fantastic portrayal of a comic bipolar psycho and Peter Marshall as Lucky is equally brilliant, especially when it comes to the intense crescendo of the infamous 'stream of consciousness' monologue.

Considering that this is commonly perceived as one of Beckett's hardest plays to make sense of and act, it was impressive to see how effortless Dramasoc's adaptation was. Due to the quality of the acting, the tragi-comedy aspect of the play is well portrayed. Along with the comic timing of their performances, there are muted moments where we realise the sad reality of their situation; four men wasting away their lives and precious time with banal actions, slowly falling into a pit of memory loss and lack of direction. Perhaps this was made all the poignant by the fact that students were portraying these characters, young people in the prime of their lives.

With light direction from Anjali Vyas-Brannick, delicate use of lighting (Sam Thompson), especially in the moonlight scenes, minimalist use of props and good acting, I don't think it'd be an exaggeration to say that this would have rivalled the adaptation at the Theatre Royal Haymarket with Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart. It's a well-executed and engaging production, one that would definitely do well off-campus.

Listen to the full audio review on 'In the Stalls' now on the ((URY PLAYER)) here.