Waiting For Godot

So where do you start with Beckett? Once described by Theatre Critic Martin Esslin as part of the post second world war movement, ‘The Theatre  of the Absurd,’ or to quote Wikipedia: “Waiting For Godot is a classic example of existentialism which expresses what happens when human existence lacks meaning or purpose and communication breaks down and Logical construction and argument give way to irrational and illogical speech.”  To grasp the basis of Beckett’s plot is certainly not easy and to further quote a member of staff at the Mill Theatre itself, ‘It is one of those plays that everybody knows but nobody knows anything about.’ That said in the hands of the Mill Theatre and Director Ian Hammond-Stark it was certainly a riveting watch.

The set actually only requires a single tree set in a dystopian style background, but Gerry Stamford and the Monday Crew went to town with this one, creating a stark grey stone block urban style background with mini tower beside the stairs leading up to the gallery. The spindly tree placed stage left rested its bare branches against the upper gallery and reappeared in the second act sparsely dressed in a few leaves to show the passing of time. Centre stage was a stack of coal with further sacks of coal on top of them upon which the actors frequently sat. All extremely well painted by Cleo Carter. Even the floor was painted as a stone paving effect. Impressive would be an understatement.

Sound by Mark Luckin was very subtle with the faint noise of bird song by day and owls at night as a background. Neatly atmospheric. Good to see Ben Cronin, whose lighting career I have followed from his days as a pupil in 4Sixteen (Castle Newnham School) to being the Lighting Designer for this show and doing an excellent job, as I have come to expect from this talented young man.

The period of the show was very much set by the choice of costumes which gave us the late Victorian, possibly early twentieth century period. Virginia Pope and Gill Ridley certainly know their craft coming up with black donkey jackets with scarves for Vladimir and Estragon, typical flamboyant Victorian costume and top hat for Pozzo with a great contrast of a patterned woollen sweater for Boy. And of course, the important headgear in the form of Bowlers, top hats and caps. First class job as per usual!

The acting in this was straight out of the top draw. This is an incredibly wordy play with a plot, if you can decipher it, that explores the relationship between the two leads in a very emotional way where you are never quite sure where it is going next, best pals and hugging one moment and falling out with each other a moment later,  and these guys didn’t miss a beat.  Their use of pauses particularly was a master class in holding an audience in the palm of your hand.

Simon Young, according to the programme, back from the shores of Borneo, and in his acting debut for the Mill as Vladimir was more the upbeat optimistic character, squeezing every ounce out of every comedic line, but holding his own with the more tragic character of Estragon.

Watching Mill stalwart David Mander as Estragon acting pained as he struggled to take his boots off certainly set the scene for the character, having been beaten up by persons unknown and suffering in almost every way, continually accepting and then rejecting Vladimir’s friendship and advice, hugging one moment and then arguing and shouting at each other the next. The chemistry between them was argumentatively sublime. There were many engaging moments between these two characters, the clever hat swapping scene  to name but one , especially stands out – most amusing.

Rik Elliot as the arrogant self-assured but entirely self-centred and cruel but whimsical Pozzo, also in his debut for The Mill, provided a lot of what comedy there is in this show.  Particularly his facial expressions, which highlighted both the mystery and the underlining evil of the character. Fantastic characterisation. Fitted into this cast like a glove.

Hari Turner, yet another debutant at the Mill as Lucky, Pozzo’s slave spent most of her time standing stock still holding  Pozzo’s luggage and then, unexpectantly delivered an incredible philosophical monolog  without drawing breath, partly about God abandoning man and partly complete nonsense.  Excellent job!

Boy, very well played by Ella Ekins was the contrast in this this show as the messenger from Godot, appearing each time to tell them he wouldn’t be coming, but on the second time somewhat confusingly saying he had never met either Vladimir or Estragon before. But that’s Beckett for you.

So, congratulations to Director Ian Hammond-Stark, his cast and crew for what was a riveting show to watch, even if we didn’t come out any wiser than we went in. Taking on ‘One of The Most Influential Plays of the Twentieth Century’ was a brave move. It is a specialist play that doesn’t appeal to everybody and clearly didn’t sell out, but as a piece of theatre at the Mill it was extremely well done.  I am in awe of anyone who can get to grips with Beckett’s meandering, often nonsensical scrip. I can 100% appreciate the skill in the acting and the dedication that must have gone into the rehearsals as no-one took a prompt and the pace never dropped.  An incredibly well-gelled, top-quality team.

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