Theatre Thursday: Waiting for Godot (November 8th, 2018)

A seminal work of twentieth-century drama, Waiting for Godot was Samuel Beckett's first professionally produced play. It opened in Paris in 1953 at the tiny Left Bank Theatre de Babylone, and has since become a cornerstone of twentieth-century theater. The story line revolves around two seemingly homeless men waiting for someone--or something--named Godot. Vladimir and Estragon wait near a tree on a barren stretch of road, inhabiting a drama spun from their own consciousness. The result is a comical wordplay of poetry, dreamscapes, and nonsense, which has been interpreted as a somber summation of mankind's inexhaustible search for meaning. Beckett's language pioneered an expressionistic minimalism that captured the existentialism of post-World War II Europe. His play remains one of the most magical and beautiful allegories of our time.

 

Waiting for Godot is what we call an absurdist play. It is meant to be a comedy with very little to say about anything. It's about two men waiting near a tree for a person named Godot (riveting stuff, I know). However, while they're waiting, they realize it's taking Godot a long time to get there. They meet two men named Lucky and Pozzo, who both claim to be messengers for Godot, saying that Godot will be there if they wait long enough. And that's it. That's the plot of the play. It has many comedic moments that are easy to understand, but the deeper meaning behind the play has been theorized by many people. My theory is that they're waiting for God, but God doesn't quite want to meet them. 

 

But in order to create your own speculations, you're going to have to read it yourself. Since it's only two acts, it should be an easy read for newcomers in the theatre scene (or just about anyone who hasn't read an absurdist play before.) Since this was one of the first plays I've read, I recommend it highly to anyone looking to catch the theatre bug. If you want to read Waiting for Godot, or any of Samuel Beckett's plays, you can find them circulating on the third floor of the library. Tune in next week for another entry on Theatre Thursday!