Passing the Time While Nothing Happens

Waiting for Godot – Chicago Shakespeare World Theatre

 

When the audience enters the Courtyard Theater auditorium, they find the heavily raked stage has been shortened, a few new rows of seating have been added down front and a man sitting alone in the semi-darkness on a large, egg-shaped stone. He remains motionless, hardly breathing, perhaps asleep or in some kind of trancelike meditation. Then the lights come up, revealing a dismal, colorless, almost nondescript locale that suggests a lonely country road passing by a lifeless tree. Into this bleak, sterile scene wanders another character. He will spend the next two-and-a-half hours passing the time with his friend on the rock, all the while nothing really happens. They’re both waiting for an unseen person named Godot.

The shabbily dressed gentleman sitting on the stone is the reticent, world-weary Estragon and his bedraggled companion is the more verbose, philosophical Vladimir. While trying to remove his boots, to ease his aching feet, Estragon mutters, “Nothing to be done,” an oft-repeated phrase, which also seems to be the theme of the play. Estragon would simply prefer to just sleep or leave, but Vladimir continually reminds him that they can’t because they’re waiting to see the mysterious titular character.  

After some time, a terrible cry is heard from offstage, signaling the arrival of Lucky, a silent, slavish character, tethered by a long rope to his abusive master, Pozzo. Lucky is hauling a large suitcase, a picnic basket and a folding camp stool. The arrogant Pozzo cracks his whip and continually shouts orders at Lucky. When Pozzo confesses that he’s on his way to sell his servant, Lucky begins to cry. Pozzo tells Vladimir and Estragon that his slave’s talents are dancing, which he does clumsily, and thinking, but only when he’s wearing his thinking cap. Donning his hat, the previously silent Lucky launches into a long, loud, disjointed soliloquy about religion and life, that will only end when Vladimir pulls off his hat. 

After they’ve left, a young boy tentatively enters to announce that Godot won’t be arriving this evening, but will surely make their acquaintance the following day. The boy leaves as the moon appears; Vladimir and Estragon decide to find some shelter for the night, but they simply continue to stand there as the lights dim.

Irish-born Samuel Beckett, who lived most of his life in Paris, was an avant-garde playwright, poet and novelist. His writing is often a bleak, tragicomic look at humanity, usually minimalist in its dialogue and peppered with moments of black comedy. He completed this particular existential tragicomedy in 1949, written in French; but the play was translated into English for its 1955 London debut. Winning the 1969 Nobel Prize for Literature, Beckett’s masterpiece, along with his plays, “Krapp’s Last Tape,” “Endgame” and “Happy Days,” secured him a place as a key figure of the surreal Theatre of the Absurd movement.

The first woman to be awarded a Tony for directing, Garry Hynes, co-founder and Artistic Director of Galway’s Druid theatre company, stages her acclaimed production with unique style and flair. She’s guided her 5-member ensemble with expert precision, focusing on mannered, often exaggerated physicality that pairs nicely with the actors’ many other talents. Never afraid of meaningful silences, Ms. Hynes emphasizes vocal acrobatics, while also focusing her production on some highly theatrical, vaudevillian humor. Proven elements of comedy, such as two actors performing the very same movement at the exact same time, are textbook examples of what makes us laugh. Stylized, hyperbolic speech, which accompanies the movement, creates a choreographed production of sight and sound that’s quite like dance. The effect is genuine, polished and, judging from the audience’s reaction, highly enjoyed.

The cast includes four gifted thespians of the Irish stage, with one Chicago-based actor in a pivotal, supporting role. Marty Rea is excellent as Vladimir. His vocal talent is commanding, matched only by his fierce physicality. Mr. Rea has an innate sense of comic timing too, like his co-star, Aaron Monaghan. In the role of Estragon, his long-suffering friend with the aching feet, Mr. Monaghan is equally as physically flexible as Rea. However, the rubber-faced Monaghan says as much with his contorted facial expressions as with his words. Both actors complement each other and perform together like a well-oiled machine. It’s almost as if they’re two sides of the same individual coin.

As Pozzo, Rory Nolan is impressively domineering. With a big voice to match his larger-than-life presence, Mr. Nolan storms and flounces around the stage, cracking his whip, cajoling his slave and nibbling on cold chicken. His return in Act II, inexplicably blind for some reason, is just as strong, despite the character’s inability to see what’s happening around him. Garrett Lombard, as the mostly mute slave, Lucky, earns his share of laughs and a great deal of compassion, in this subservient role. Majestic in his long platinum blond hair, courtesy of Val Sherlock’s wigs and makeup, Mr. Lombard turns into a fierce, eloquent lion when finally allowed to break his suppressed silence in a loudly-proclaimed soliloquy about nearly everything in life. And local actor, Zachary Scott Fewkes, a talented, young man whose talents have been enjoyed at Porchlight Music Theatre and Music Theatre Works, is engaging as the shy, young goatherd who bears messages from Godot.

Druid theatre company’s much-lauded production, direct from rave reviews in Ireland, is in Chicago for only a limited engagement. Therefore, theatergoers who wish to enjoy this seldom-experienced dramatic treat need to secure tickets as soon as possible. This absurdist play, often read and studied in theatre classes, really deserves to be seen and heard, in order to be fully appreciated. This is true, of course, for most every play, but it’s particularly important with Samuel Beckett’s masterpiece. Enhanced by Francis O’Connor’s sparse, but effective, scenic design and atmospherically lit by James F. Ingalls, Garry Hynes’ production dazzles the senses. With her skilled direction, Ms. Hynes mines so much humor from this captivating, often bewildering script so as to create a thought-provoking, comic classic that should not be missed.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas      

               

Presented May 23-June 3 by Chicago Shakespeare WorldStage, in conjunction with Ireland’s Druid Theatre Company, at the Courtyard on Navy Pier.

Tickets are available at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Box Office at 312-595-5600 or by going to www.chicagoshakes.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.