WAITING FOR GODOT at the Theatre Royal Haymarket

★★★★

“The partnership between Msamati and Whishaw is first rate”

The setting (Rae Smith) is a desolate stony landscape with no discerning features bar one sad leafless tree. Despite time references of the afternoon and evening there is no discriminating change in lighting (Bruno Poet). It appears to be permanently night-time, practically Nordic.

Two unkempt individuals are doing not very much. Estragon (Lucian Msamati) is seated, trying unsuccessfully to remove his boots. Vladimir (Ben Whishaw) stands idly under the tree. It transpires that they are waiting for Godot, a man of whom they know very little or seemingly even the reason why they are waiting for him. Both men are grungily dressed: Vladimir in a singlet, jogging pants and bobble hat; Estragon in grubby fatigues and a winter fur hat with earflaps. Both have slept rough, Estragon in a ditch after having been beaten up, he says. Vladimir appears to have internal pains. Life is clearly not sweet for this odd couple.

It’s been said that Samuel Beckett has written a great play in which nothing happens and as the second act very much mirrors the first, he has written a play in which nothing happens twice. And yet we are engrossed in what action there is. Director James Macdonald moves the pair around the stage slowly but naturally. Occasionally in moments of anxiety Vladimir breaks into a run but fundamentally they (and we) are waiting. The partnership between Msamati and Whishaw is first rate. The clarity of diction from both men is excellent bringing out all the nuances of Beckett’s text. Whishaw is high energy and highly pitched, Msamati sullen, sulky and velvety.

Beckett describes his work as a ‘tragicomedy’ and it is hard to place exactly where this production lands. The audience laughs at the scene involving the inscrutable landowner Pozzo (Jonathan Slinger) and his cruelty towards his ‘menial’ Lucky (Tom Edden) but it isn’t funny really, is it? Lucky is brilliantly portrayed by Edden with his perfect repetitive actions, his jaw gaping, eyeballs popping and drool flailing. Edden gets his own round of applause for his ‘thinking’ scene but his ‘dancing’ routine could have been extended if the director wished to maximise the comic intent.

For the tragic side of things, the pointlessness of it all is evident, and the silences speak volumes. The two waiting friends consider suicide, but for as much as to find something to do than for ending things forever, it seems. The lasting memory of this production is seeing the bond of friendship grow between Vladimir and Estragon; their discrete holding of hands, or a gentle touch on the shoulder giving a poignancy amidst all the blathering. But with that comes an overwhelming sadness.

It is near on seventy years since the first production of this play which is thought by many as one of the finest in the English language (despite the original being in French!) and certainly ground-breaking in terms of the history of theatre. Waiting for Godot is a play that every theatre lover should see on stage, and this is a very fine production indeed with strong performances throughout. Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati are both outstanding. Go see it!

WAITING FOR GODOT at the Theatre Royal Haymarket

Reviewed on 19th September 2024

by Phillip Money

Photography by Marc Brenner

Previously reviewed at this venue:

FARM HALL | ★★★★ | August 2024

HEATHERS | ★★★ | July 2021

WAITING FOR GODOT

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★★★★

“a fascinating reconstruction of what might have been said”

Last year’s Jermyn Street Theatre production of Katherine Moar’s cerebral play journeys the short distance down Haymarket to take up residence at the majestic Theatre Royal.

The title Farm Hall takes its name from the real Cambridgeshire country residence in which a number of Germany’s top physicists are imprisoned at the end of the war and where their every word is recorded and scrutinised. The play is a fascinating reconstruction of what might have been said and how such a collection of brilliant men may have behaved. With the central character of Werner Heisenberg in common, Moar’s fascinating first play invites comparison with Michael Frayn’s brilliant Copenhagen.

The action is set entirely in Farm Hall’s downstairs drawing room; a room that first appears luscious with antique mahogany furniture, polished floorboards, and a Persian rug in front of the open fireplace, until one’s eyes are drawn to the damp on the walls and the peeling wallpaper (Designer Ceci Calf). Everything is softly lit (Lighting Designer Ben Ormerod) exuding a gentle period feel.

The six scientists, impeccably dressed in suits and ties, sit and stand around. It transpires they are rehearsing a scene from Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit just to fill the time. Later, we’ll see them reading, or playing chess or backgammon. One scientist amusingly sulks because they haven’t got Monopoly. There is surprisingly little talk about science. Director Stephen Unwin skilfully moves the six men around the room without ever hurrying the pace or making the room appear overcrowded.

At first it appears that the dashing Weizsäcker (Daniel Boyd) is the group’s ringleader, controlling the group’s activities and its conversation, and then Von Laue (David Yelland, delightfully plummy) as the senior scientist. Like a group of public-school boys, they fantasise about pretty girls, there are petty rivalries, even some slight bullying of the generally disliked Diebner (Julius D’Silva) – the lone experimental physicist amongst a majority of theoreticals. The empathic Hahn (Forbes Masson) tries to see that everyone gets along and Bagge (Archie Backhouse) prickles that he has the most of all to fear for the future. The six actors are all excellent, the dialogue flows and we are drawn in, fascinated by their individual stories.

And then the tone changes, a large shadow is cast over the gathering as the Americans drop the first atomic bomb. Each man reacts differently, Heisenberg (a mightily impressive Alan Cox) simply won’t believe it. Hahn is inconsolable and hints at suicide. And the conversation turns from games to something more serious. Did they really intend to create a bomb for the Nazis or did they just pretend to? Heisenberg ambiguously admits that both could be true and as the group collect their suitcases on their eventual release they are now asking themselves the impossible question: What is truth? And that is one question too big for any short play to answer.

Tag Archives: Theatre Royal Haymarket

WAITING FOR GODOT

★★★★

Theatre Royal Haymarket

WAITING FOR GODOT at the Theatre Royal Haymarket

★★★★

“The partnership between Msamati and Whishaw is first rate”

WAITING FOR GODOT at the Theatre Royal Haymarket