70 YEARS ON, AND WE’RE STILL WAITING
You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.
— Albert Camus, playwright and novelist
Aasif Mandvi and Rainn Wilson
Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot has generated volumes of literary, dramatic and academic commentary for more than 70 years. Now onstage at Geffen Playhouse, this new revival features Rainn Wilson (The Office) and Aasif Mandvi (The Daily Show) in the lead roles of Vladimir, a.k.a. “Didi”, and Estragon “Gogo”.
Rainn Wilson and Aasif Mandvi
Debate about whether “Godot” refers to “God”, and the meaning of the play itself, have been going on since its less-than-stellar reception at the 1953 Paris premiere. Originally written in French, Beckett reworked it himself in English for the 1955 London premiere. Since then it has become a classic, representing Theatre of the Absurd, a branch of existentialism. Heady stuff, right? But the play is basically “about” nothing. When Vladimir asks what Godot does, a Boy replies, “He does nothing, Sir.” The Boy also thinks Godot has a white beard (perhaps a reference to the Christian image of God), but he really doesn’t know. (Beckett has said that if he’d meant God, he’d have written God.)
Aasif Mandvi and Lincoln Bonilla
The acting is strong all across the board at the Gil Cates Theater; what distinguishes this production is the slow pace that director Judy Hegarty Lovett has chosen. There are a lot of silent moments on the stage, and a lot of physicality, some choreographed fighting and body pile-ups (by fight director Steve Rankin), expressive hand gestures and facial expressions — all perhaps a bit too much for a two-and-a-half hour, two-act play about nothing. While I wish it had moved a little faster, I do think that this production of Waiting for Godot has done justice to the existentially absurd spirit of Beckett’s masterwork, while providing many laughs along the way.
Aasif Mandvi and Rainn Wilson
Shabbily dressed and wearing bowler hats, Vladimir and Estragon — whose lives may have seen better days — are in the middle of nowhere, in a barren landscape with nothing but a leafless tree and a rock, just trying to exist from day to day. They don’t know where they are, why they are waiting, who they are waiting for, what they will do while waiting, sometimes contemplating suicide, other times philosophical thoughts or physical pain. They have been together for a very long time, but one day is just like the other; Gogo wants to leave, Didi says we can’t … we’re waiting for Godot. In between, they need to pass the time.
Aasif Mandvi and Rainn Wilson
Simon Bennison‘s lighting design is subtly remarkable. The actors enter on a dark stage; when light comes up, the back wall is charcoal grey except for a streak of pale white in the middle. As we move from night to morning in varying shades of gray, gradually the back wall grows lighter, until once again it is time for evening to fall, and the light darkens with a blurry white disk representing the moon moving across the wall.
Rainn Wilson, Adam Stein and Aasif Mandvi
Along comes Pozzo (Conor Lovett) with Lucky (Adam Stein), who has a rope tied around his neck, controlled by Pozzo, and is fully bent over, carrying a heavy load under each arm. Pozzo is the master, taking Lucky to market to sell him. He is very harsh with Lucky. When Didi and Gogo attempt to intervene, Pozzo becomes increasingly unhinged. As Pozzo’s story about their relationship spills out of him, the question becomes who’s the slave, who’s the master?
Conor Lovett
Lucky doesn’t speak until Pozzo commands him to “Dance!” (the very funny, herky-jerky short display of arm-shaking, leg-kicking physicality) and then to “Think!”, something Pozzo knows Lucky can do better than he can. As soon as Lucky’s hat is removed, he launches into a highly animated, scene-stealing monologue with expressive elevated vocabulary, lofty thoughts, and nonsensical segues, in the manner of an academic argument — except that there’s no “there” there. Just words. Once the hat goes back on, he stops.
Aasif Mandvi, Rainn Wilson and Adam Stein
When Pozzo and Lucky leave, the Boy (a completely adorable Lincoln Bonilla, alternating with Jack McSherry), enters, apparently intimidated, to let the vagabonds know that Godot will not be coming. The Boy leaves, day becomes evening, evening becomes night and Act I ends.
Rainn Wilson, Conor Lovett and Adam Stein
In Act II, the barren tree has sprouted three leaves. Was it overnight? Or has more time passed? They are still waiting for Godot. We’re looking at a brightly lit, sandy-colored floor, the background a light tan with a bright white strip in the middle. The strip in the middle morphs into tan-shaded and, as the act progresses, a scalene triangle of white light passes behind and to the right of the tree, then shifts positions to left and in front of the tree, a sense of the sun passing through the day. There’s a Rothko-esque blending of the color bands as the sky darkens into brownish-greys and sunset is suggested by the lower band turning rust colored. Here again the moon becomes visible and travels the across the back of the stage as Vladimir and Estragon remain standing by play’s end when the men say “We’re leaving” but they do not move.
Adam Stein, Aasif Mandvi, Rainn Wilson and Conor Lovett
Mel Mercier‘s Sound Design Composition plays another subtle role. There’s a hint of it in the background throughout, sounding like a combination of a church-like solemnity with a vaguely ominous white noise undertone. It grew louder during intermission, and then resumed its almost subliminal effect throughout Act II.
Aasif Mandvi and Jack McSherry
Scenic and Costume Designer Kaye Voyce‘s elements are essentially simple – a naked silver tree, a round edged rock, Didi and Gogo’s shirts, vests and rumpled overcoats, their somewhat baggy pants (Gogo’s held up by a piece of rope), the boots, the bowler hats — and all worked exactly as they should in the context of this play.
Adam Stein
photos by Jeff Lorch
poster photo by Justin Bettman
Waiting for Godot
Geffen Playhouse, 10866 Le Conte Avenue in Westwood
Wed-Fri at 8; Sat at 3 & 8; Sun at 2 & 7
ends on December 15, 2024
for tickets (starting at $39), call 310.208.5454 or visit Geffen Playhouse
