Wow. This is a dream cast, a dream production, and a dream interview. You’ve got Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen as the leads, for a start. Two of my favourite actors on stage or screen. But they are joined by another favourite of mine, the amazing Simon Callow! The quartet is rounded out by Ronald Pickup (who I don’t know as well, but is no slouch himself). They’re doing Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot”, and it is going to tour at various theatres in the UK before ending up in London. That would be quite marvellous to see, I think.
Anyway, why am I telling you this? Other than just to enthuse about having those people on stage together weaving their magical spells? Because they were visited by BBC Radio 4’s Today programme’s James Naughtie for an interview about the production, and about the challenges of the play. All four participate, and it is a real treat. There’s a short version and an extended version of the interview to listen to. It is an excellent interview that won’t be up for long (if I know the BBC site), so go and have a listen. Link here, and scroll down. I don’t expect it to last longer than a week. (You can also podcast the Today interview daily for this and more every day.) [Update: Direct link to full version here.]
-cvj
My wife and I were fortunate enough to see this on Saturday, and it was simply breathtaking. As you’d expect, the acting was sublime, but the direction was from the top drawer, too. I’d never seen Godot before but I imagine that, in the wrong hands, it could be incomprehensible. As it was, there was a beautiful balance between humour and pathos until the last 5 minutes, or so. At that point, it was as if the whole play suddenly came into sharp focus, to give a cumulative sense of the underlying tragedy. This was truly devastating, and I don’t think it’s possible to imagine anyone who could deliver the last segment better than Patrick Stewart.
Wasn’t the point of the play was to see who would walk out? Audience participation in existentialism. You could wait until the end or leave.
Thank you for this!
I was at the New York opening of Waiting for Godot, it must have been 1955 or 1956, and you can’t believe how many theatergoers walked out on it that night.