Waiting for Godot

 Waiting for Godot
Theatre for a New Audience
Polonsky Shakespeare Center
November 11, 2023 

Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Theatre for a New Audience’s production of Waiting for Godot is dark, gritty, and haunting.  Under Arin Arbus’ direction, the poetry in Samuel Beckett’s writing emerges as the rhythms in the dialogue rise and play out between the characters.  Ms. Arbus creates honest moments of companionship and  comfort, as well as truthful instances of distress and suspense.  The cast delivers masterful performances, pulling the audience deeper and deeper into their endless waiting and mounting despair.

Estragon (played by Michael Shannon) and Vladimir (played by Paul Sparks) are waiting for Godot.  They know they are in the right location, by the tree.  Maybe it’s the wrong day.  How many days have they been there?  They think they see him coming, but it is Pozzo (played by Ajay Naidu) and his servant Lucky (played by Jeff Biehl).  Estagon and Vladimir pass the time with them, then Pozzo and Lucky leave.  A boy (played by Toussaint Francois Battiste) arrives with a message from Godot.  He will be there tomorrow. 

Michael Shannon & Paul Sparks
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience.

Tomorrow arrives.  Estragon and Vladimir are waiting for Godot.  The tree has one new leaf.  Time is
passing.  Pozzo and Lucky return, but they are blind and dumb.  They do not recall having been there the day before, and neither does the boy when he returns with the same message from Godot.  Estragon and Vladimir debate what to do, then they wait. 

When you first enter the theatre, Michael Shannon is sitting on the stage as Estragon.  The theatre space fills with a strange quiet and heavy anticipation.  The waiting has already begun.  Time feels suspended through a lot of this production, giving the audience a visceral sense of one of Mr. Beckett’s themes in the piece.  There are also numerous biblical references connecting the characters and the waiting to a greater sense of existence. 

Jeff Biehl, Michael Shannon, Ajay Naidu, & Paul Sparks
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Paul Sparks and Michael Shannon are phenomenal together.  They have impeccable timing and a genuine bond that keeps the audience fully engaged.  Mr. Sparks’ Vladimir is highly physical, fidgeting and rapidly moving around the entire playing area, while Mr. Shannon’s Estragon is sedentary, weary, and unsteady on his feet.  

Ajay Naidu is energetic and antagonistic as Pozzo.  Jeff Biehl is discomfiting and mesmerizing as Lucky.  Their presence throws the rhythm and pace of the play into another realm.  All your attention goes to Toussaint Francois Battiste both times he enters as the boy.  Mr. Battiste embodies a different energy from the other characters.  He is the only one who has seen Godot.  He embodies a calm and certainty that the others are lacking. 

Samuel Beckett’s play has elusive and provocative existential and philosophical images and levels.  This production will engage you emotionally and leave you thinking.  Waiting for Godot is playing at Theare for a New Audience’s Polonsky Shakespeare Center through December 3. 

Domenick Danza

Waiting for Godot

Waiting for Godot

Gare St Lazare Ireland & Dublin Theatre Festival

NYU Skirball Center

October 17, 2015

Photo courtesy of
Gare St Lazare Ireland
and Dublin Theatre Festival

The Gare St Lazare Ireland and Dublin Theatre Festival production of Waiting for Godot played at NYU’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts October 13 through 17.  The director and actors unearth the natural rhythms and subtle humor of this Becket classic.  The mood and timing of the production envelops you in the working of the characters’ minds, the simplicity of their needs, and the sheer humanity of their experiences.

The set, designed by Ferdia Murphy, is captivating.  The large and haunting projection of the full moon is mirrored by the identical, circular playing area on the stage floor.  The willow branch that is suspended from above is minimal, yet constantly present.  Director Judy Hegarty Lovett utilizes the space to the fullest, allowing the two main actors, Gary Lydon (as Estragon) and Conor Lovett (as Vladimir), to experience their questionable encounters with Dominic J. Moore (as Pozzo), Marcus Lamb (as Lucky), and William Keppler-Robinson (as the Boy).  The connection and relationship between the two main characters is grounded and absorbing.  Their timing is strong and clean, both physically and vocally.  All these elements, along with the calm and steady pace of the production, create a mesmerizing sense of interest and intrigue.

Photo courtesy of
Gare St Lazare and Dublin Theatre Festival

According to the program notes: “Over the past ten years, the Irish theatre company Gare St Lazare Ireland has represented Ireland at the very highest level of artistic achievement.  The company team of Conor Lovett, Judy Hegarty Lovett and associate producer Maura O’Keeffe, has cemented its international reputation among the foremost interpreters of the work of Samuel Beckett, producing over 17 Beckett titles for the stage.”  This production of Waiting for Godot is a true reflection of this high quality and expertise.  Their webpage advertises that they will be performing two different Beckett plays at the Lincoln Center White Lights Festival November 2 through 5.  I highly recommend checking them out.

Domenick Danza