Waiting for Godot

One of the most eagerly anticipated productions of the year, Samuel Beckett’s iconic play has received a new lease of life with renowned actors Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart. Though meeting as enemies in Hollywood’s successful ‘X-Men’ trilogy, ‘Waiting for Godot’ sees them as two very close, yet very argumentative companions, Vladamir and Estragon, who meet every day to wait for the illusive Godot.

Their relationship is the key to the immense success of this performance, pitching between irritation and bickering, and gentle tenderness and care. McKellan’s Estragon is wonderfully cringing and forgetful, shuffling across the stage in his saggy trousers, whilst Stewart’s Vladamir is the more sentient of the pair, helping his incapacitated companion put on his boots, and constantly reminding him of the facts of their existence.

The production fulfills all of the comedic possibilities of a play that is often considered relentlessly nihilistic. The pair caper geriatrically across the stage, combining slapstick humour with delicate pathos, their distinctive sonorous voices filling the theatre. Simon Callow, never known to do things by halves, adds a fabulous, overblown element to the show as Pozzo, roaring across the stage with his abused servant Lucky (Ronald Pickup) in tow. Pickup’s single speech was an unexpected delight in this performance, delivered with alarming speed and animation.

Despite the emphasis on physical humour, the production does not neglect the deeper implications of Beckett’s masterpiece. The set brings out the play's post-apocalyptic potential, with crumbling, bombed-out buildings, and a bare, dead looking tree. At times of high emotion, the lighting creates harsh shadows upon the broken buildings, silhouetting the lonely figures on the stage. The repetitions in the second act expose the characters’ endlessly bleak quest for meaning in a troubled universe.

It would be easy to imagine that these roles were designed for such a gifted veteran cast; their rich and memorable performances combined with Sean Mathias’s dexterous direction made this a production well worth the wait.