Evening. A barren road. A tree.
Waiting for Godot, Beckett's first – and probably most accessible – work is, as I write this, in final rehearsals for a new production by award-winning director James Macdonald.
Macdonald has a reputation for enticing great actors to his productions and the cast he's assembled here is a dream. Starring Ben Whishaw (James Bond, Paddington) as Vladimir, Lucian Msamati (Game of Thrones, Amadeus) as Estragon, with Tom Edden (Crazy For You, Cyrano De Bergerac) as Lucky and Jonathan Slinger (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Richard II and Richard III) as Pozzo, the stage has been set for an inspired interpretation.
The backdrop
Famously described by critic Vivien Mercier as a play in which ‘nothing happens twice’, this two-act play serves as a snapshot into the fraught existence of our two main characters, Vladimir and Estragon, who appear to do nothing much but ‘wait for Godot’ who may, or may not exist.
Offering neither conclusion nor resolution, this perfect example of existential theatre offers actors a great opportunity for personal interpretation, providing their own take on Beckett's both fragile and disarmingly powerful words. Any meaning – if indeed there is one – relies upon the individual, for as Beckett himself alluded; ‘It's just about two men waiting for a third to arrive – that's it’.
What drew you to these roles?
Jonathan: I was drawn towards Pozzo partly because I'd never done Beckett before, and this weird power the play holds compelled me to take it on – without really understanding why. I've done a lot of classical stuff, but not Beckett. I've been drawn more into the play as rehearsals have gone along. There's a thread that runs through the entire piece that leads you to anything you want to know about the human condition.
Tom: As an actor, there are certain roles that come your way that make you better at your job – they add to your actor's muscles, and I'd always wanted to play Lucky – I always felt I could jump into that extremity of oddness!
What's it like to work with such a small cast?
Jonathan: I've worked with huge casts right down to a one-man show, which was a very lonely experience. I like the small cast, and we all get on really well, although it can be a bit of a risk – if you don't get on with someone, if you don't gel, that's potentially a mismatch with a quarter of the cast. There are few places to hide in a small cast like this.
Tom: Not to spare John's blushes, I honestly like everyone in the cast. I'm a real theatre geek and a really big fan of all my colleagues. I've worked with Lucian before actually, in Amadeus. It's great to learn from each other and we've got each other's backs – there really is a beautiful atmosphere even though we are dealing with difficult terrain in all our roles. I feel like this production is a bit like doing a bungee jump. You ensure everything's in place to make sure all goes well, and you'll be safe, but at the end of the day – you're still jumping!
Waiting for Godot is regarded as a classic, being the subject of many interpretations through the years, but does it have much to offer a young audience and how can we actively encourage such people into the theatre?
Jonathan: It's very funny! And I think teenagers will get that. I think young people will be drawn into it. The play reminds me of those years when you're not old enough to go to pubs or clubs – the pre-drinking years. You hang around parks thinking, ‘what shall we do now?’ You can't go anywhere so you shoot the shit, just talking bollocks to pass the time. You see characters here that are very close, trying to entertain each other in just the same way. If anyone can relate to the play it's young people.
Tom: There's been a great deal of dumbing down where teenagers are concerned. They're not being offered a great variety of material, it's a lot of remakes; it's very repetitive. Young people are gasping for something to grapple with – and the theatre is a great place to get it. This play, for example, is still so relevant to their lives today and will leave them with much to think over – what cultural references can they find here? If they come along because they like Ben (Wishaw) and have seen him on TV – great, it's getting them into the theatre. This will be something new, something different – there's nothing on the streaming sites like this.
Jonathan: Jamie [director, James Macdonald] has enough reach to bring famous names to the theatre and of course this brings young people in – hopefully these productions will be gateways and it won't just be going to the theatre when they see someone from TV there, they'll want to see more productions, thinking ‘I didn't realise it could be this exciting!’ This is my hope. Otherwise, we're just worshipping at the altar of celebrity.
© MARC BRENNER
Jonathan Slinger and Tom Edden in rehearsal for Waiting for Godot
Young people are gasping for something to grapple with – and the theatre is a great place to get it
Tom: The cheaper ticket scheme that's being applied across this production will hopefully act as an incentive for young people. We don't want theatre to be accessible to just this one small slice of community, but opening young people's eyes to the theatre is an elusive goal. I was in Les Misérables for a year, and we had a full theatre the whole time – this was the bounce back after Covid; people were desperate to return. You can't take away that deep love of seeing live theatre, but it has to be within a person's grasp. Just like the upcoming Oasis tour, accessibility and affordability are the points that need addressing if young people are to be welcomed.
Many young people aspire to a career in acting – What made you choose the profession?
Jonathan: I was a show-off! And I was also lucky enough to go to a school that had an excellent teacher at GCSE who encouraged me greatly. We were taken to see some fantastic shows too. From there, it was just one step after another – but having that inspiring teacher who encouraged me early on, that was a big factor for me.
Tom: I was very young, only three years old when I performed at my first drama festival. It's the only thing I've ever been any good at and I've never wanted to do anything else. My parents did have me shadow a barrister they knew around a court for a bit, hoping I might want to go into the legal profession – that never happened. Then, when I was 18, I got into RADA and if there had ever been any doubt, it ended there.
Finally, Waiting for Godot is famously ambiguous; what's your take on it?
Jonathan: The peculiar set of circumstances – that of two people waiting by a tree in a bleak landscape – somehow manages to explore everything about the human condition: suffering, death, impotence – both literally and figuratively – joyful optimism and despair. It does it all within the confines of this rather strange relationship. All the great plays explore exactly this. Not just plays, but art – paintings and music do the same.
Tom: It makes me think about a region of France that I visited with my partner, where there are lots of cave paintings. They're incredibly beautiful. We don't know exactly why they exist, but your brain still wants to grasp at something – we're compelled to find a meaning. In terms of this play, that's almost the danger. It's ultimately about two people waiting for another person who never arrives. But, having said that, it holds a lot of meaning for me. Somehow, it touches every aspect of spirituality.
Tickets for Waiting for Godot are on sale now. 25,000 tickets across the run have been priced at £25 or less, spread throughout the house, of which 5,000 are held for under 30s and Blue Light workers.
The show plays at London's Theatre Royal Haymarket until 14 December 2024.