WAITING FOR GODOT

 

 Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett.

Directed by Caroline Stacey OAM. Set, costume and lighting design Véronique Benett. Sound design Kimmo Vennonen.Movement consultant Ashlee Bye.  Production Manager Neil Simpson. Stage Manager Brittany Myers. Lighting Operator Wayne Bateup. Sound Operator Kimmo Vennonen. Design Associate Kathleen Kershaw. Set Construction Martin Thomas. Stage Technicians Wayne Bateup, Connor McKay, Kyle Sheedy, Nathan Sciberras. Publicity Su Hodge. Production Photography Nathan Smith Photography. Novel Photographic. Videography Craig Alexander. Poster Artwork Design♡Cult. Marketing Artwork Design♡Cult. Street One. The Street. November 9-24 2024. Bookings 62471223.

Reviewed by Peter Wilkins

 

Christopher Samuel Carroll as Vladimir

Samuel Beckett’s literary masterpiece Waiting For Godot, currently given an outstanding production at The Street is generally regarded as “Theatre of the absurd”. Coined by Martin Esslin the term is explained by Esslin as  “the dignity of man lies in his ability to face reality in all its senselessness; to accept it freely, without fear, without illusions–and to laugh at it” It embodies the notion of free will, of man’s ability to act without the influence of a higher power or a religion. It is therefore necessary for any production of Waiting For Godot to reflect Esslin’s definition of absurdism and the forces, both physical and psychological that act against free will. 

P.J. Williams as Estragon

Director Caroline Stacey and her cast have excelled in staging a production of Beckett’s iconic play that lurches us along the roadway of life in all its aspects. In the actions of Vladimir  (Christopher Samuel Carroll) and Estragon (P.J. Williams) as they wait to meet Mr. Godot we witness the futility of their seemingly meaningless existence. The arrival of an authoritarian Pozzo (Craig Alexander) and his servile lackey ironically called Lucky (James Scott) exposes the cruel nature of man’s inhumanity to man. And yet, in this illuminating production one is made poignantly aware of the human’s capacity for resilience. Williams and Carroll epitomize this resilience through their interdependence, their arguments and reconciliation, their clownish antics, their games to occupy their time while waiting for Mr Godot, who never comes. 

James Scott as Lucky. Craig Alexander as Pozzo

Stacey keeps the action moving with highly physical stage business recollecting Beckett’s fascination with the clowns of the silent movie era and later the comedy pairs like Abbott and Costello and Laurel and Hardy.  In the hands of this highly professional and accomplished company Beckett’s  tragicomedy is a shining beacon casting light on our human condition. In casting Williams and Carroll as the two vagabonds eking out their time on a lonely country road, Stacey has paired the two actors who offered excellent performances in The Street’s Crime and Punishment, In Waiting for Godot they again demonstrate their ability to move us and provoke laughter at their absurd circumstance. There is excellent support from Alexander and Scott. Scott’s performan
ce as the hapless servant to the domineering Pozzo in the first act is amongst the finest interpretation of oppressed subjugation that you are ever likely to see on a Canberra stage. Scott entirely inhabits the pathos and the pain of his character before bursting forth with senseless diatribe, a cry for understanding in an uncaring universe. Every performance in this production is worthy of the highest commendation but Scott’s Lucky will remain in my memory and my conscience for many years to come.

Designer Véronique Benett has created a promenade setting with audience seated on either side of the long road that rises to nowhere below a full silvery moon. A lone tree stands on the rise and below Estragon and Vladimir wait where there is “nothing to be done” and “ Nobody comes, Nobody goes. It’s awful” There is an aesthetically pleasing uniformity in Benett’s design of set, costume and lighting, accompanied by Kimmo Vennonen’s subtle sound design, punctuated by moments of sudden alert. There is a harmony of design drawing our attention to the action and the atmosphere in a production that is not to be missed and, I suspect, has been informed by a careful analysis of Beckett’s profundity and playful humour. The season is short, the seating capacity limited by the imaginative design in the main theatre of The Street so rush to get a ticket before it is too late to wait.