Review: Waiting For Godot, Theatre Royal Haymarket starring Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati
08/10/2024
Waiting For Godot is a play I love; I studied it for A-level, so I'd buy tickets regardless of the casting, but the combo of Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati was definitely an added draw.
It is a play that tends to attract starry casts - I've seen productions with Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and Hugo Weaving - I suppose it helps sell tickets for a surrealist play that isn't going to be for everyone.
Waiting For Godot is essentially a play in which nothing happens. Twice. But it's also a play in which everything happens and that's one of the reasons I like it.
Estragon/Gogo (Lucian Msamati) and Vladimir/Didi (Ben Whishaw) are waiting for someone called Godot. Who Godot is and why they are waiting for him is open for interpretation, which is another reason I love the play.
"Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it's awful!" says Gogo at one point. But that isn't strictly true, Pozzo (Jonathan Slinger) and his servant Lucky (Tom Edden) come along. Twice.
What passes during the encounter is, again, open for interpretation.
It might not seem like it on paper, but Waiting For Godot is a funny play, and this is a funny production. It is not rolling around in the aisles funny, but it draws out the amusing absurdity and its inherent truth. It's irony and silliness.
There are bubbles of laughter, particularly during the second half when Didi and Gogo's routine becomes familiar.
The play's subtle layers require a lot of the actors to deliver, and Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati didn't disappoint.
You see the friendship and affection, sometimes begrudgingly, between the two and the irritation that comes from being in the same company for such a long time.
Didi and Gogo go on a journey without going anywhere. The situation may fundamentally stay the same, but gestures, certain looks and tones are both roots and revolution in their relationship and situation.
It's a play, for me, about the human condition. It is stuffed with the struggles, foibles and ticks of humans: Loneliness, selfishness and vanity. There is cruelty, anger, and pettiness, as well as affection, compassion, and fun.
The complexity of human nature is laid bare. Didi comforts Gogo but is also negatively influenced by Pozzo's sharpness and cruelty.
What you get from it may, in part, be down to where the emphasis falls but also what you bring to the play.
Religious references pop. Didi talks about one of the thieves being saved, highlighting that one was left to his fate. There is no judgment from Didi on this, just curiosity. Is a 50% chance of being saved good odds? Didi seems to have thrown his faith/chips behind, waiting for the mysterious Godot.
This 'indiscriminate saving' is reflected in the one bit of information we find out about Godot. His boy servant appears towards the end of the first act, revealing that Godot beats the other boy servants but not him.
Time is the invisible character in the play. They argue over what day of the week it is and what they did the previous day.
The stage is a barren landscape apart from a leafless tree and square stone. The lighting means the tree throws a shadow which tracks across the stage very slowly until the boy appears.
At that point, night begins to fall, and the movement of the shadow becomes perceptible. It marks the end of the waiting part of the day; having filled the slow daylight hours seems a relief for both.
This production illuminated different parts of the play, making it both familiar and new. It was the funny, bitter-sweet, revelatory play I love all over again.
I'm giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Waiting For Godot, Theatre Royal Haymarket
Written by Samuel Beckett
Directed by James MacDonald
Starring Ben Whishaw, Lucian Msamati, Tom Edden and Jonathan Slinger
Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes, including an interval
Booking until 14 December; for more details and to buy tickets, visit the Theatre Royal Haymarket's website.
Related reading:
Review of Waiting For Godot starring Huge Weaving, Barbican Theatre
Recently reviewed
Ostan, Park Theatre ⭐️⭐️ and a half, booking until 12 October.
Foreverland, Southwark Theatre ⭐️⭐️⭐️ booking until 19 October
Coriolanus, National Theatre ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ booking until 9 November.
Shifters, Duke of York's Theatre; ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ booking until 12 October
🎥 Check out my YouTube channel for short video reviews and interviews with writers, directors and actors.
📱 Follow me on Instagram for more theatre stuff, including my Sunday Theatre question