Kingston Whig-Standard Review
Queen's Journal Review

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Superb Performances in Godot: The wait is long and the weight is heavy in Single Thread Theatre Company's Waiting for Godot

by Joy Yokoyama, Kingston Whig-Standard (April 17, 2004)

Samuel Beckett's classic is one of those plays that is more about concepts and philosophy than, say, entertainment. Its dialogue is just as good - if not better - studied instead of heard.

But some superb performances pull off a production that will certainly please fans of this play in particular and high-minded theatah in general.

The story - and that term is used generously - follows two friends who are waiting for the mysterious Godot to appear. Why they're waiting is unclear, though there's a suggestion that they'll be punished if they don't. How long they wait is also unclear. To Vladimir (Alastair Forbes) and the audience it seems to be two days, but Estragon (Luke Davies) isn't so sure.

While Vladimir and Estragon wait, they become bored and try to pass the time with various games and conversations that mean nothing and everything at the same time. Is there a rock that can't be seen in the boot that causes pain? Has this tree sprouted leaves since yesterday? Did the events of yesterday actually happen yesterday?

Both dressed like Charlie Chaplin, Vladimir and Estragon mull absurdities between long pauses that make the wait for Godot seem extra long for the audience as well. If this were any other play, the actors would appear to have forgotten their lines. But this is Waiting for Godot, and they're just waiting. And waiting.

Some Chaplinesque slapstick-style comedy is thrown in, too, which does help to liven the wait. The ever-hopeful, though terribly high- strung, Vladimir and the pessimistic, though terribly apathetic, Estragon form opposite ends of the same simpleton, fumbling with physical ham in his dissection of questions both philosophical and mudane.

Forbes in particular has a knack for fearful and confused facial expressions.

The wait is interrupted twice by the arrival of Pozzo and Lucky. Pozzo (Thousand Islands veteran Mo Bock) is a self-important slave master in a foul mood. Bock plays up the role with enough shouting and grumpiness to persuade us he'd eat a small child who talked out of turn.

As Lucky, Andrei Drooz is a fortunate choice. Drooz gives an astonishing performance as the tired, beat-upon slave with turned- in legs and a weak neck. His dissertation on philosophy when told to "Think, pig!" spikes the production with its greatest moment.

And what does this all mean?

Are Vladimir and Estragon essentially waiting for a God who never comes? Do they represent Everyman in his quest to "always find something to give us the impression we exist"? Do they represent the two thieves on the crosses who died with Jesus as is suggested early in the play? And what does Pozzo (who is taken for Godot initially) represent?

These questions have surrounded the play for years and will continue to swirl in the minds of the kinds of theatregoers who delight in de-puzzling its absurdities and then pondering them.

But, to borrow a line from the play, "I've been better entertained." Just a warning.

Rating: 3 1/2 (out of five)

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Godot Worth The Wait

by Cara Smusiak, Queen's Journal (May 11, 2004); Photo by Andrew Norman

It sits on your chest like a heavy weight that won’t move, no matter how much you struggle. It weights you down until you think you’re going to scream.

It’s the story of hopelessness and despair, a story of perspective, and of unending disappointment in an unforgiving world. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, a Single Thread Theatre Company production, was at once wonderful and horrid – just as it was meant to be. Punctuated by comic interplay between the characters and morose talk of suicide, from the beginning the play is both funny and sad.

Picture it: two men – Vladimir “Didi” (Alastair Forbes) and Estragon “Gogo” (Luke Davies) – waiting for this man, Godot, to show up and save them from their miserable existence. Of course, there was always a reason why Godot couldn’t make it and you know he’s never going to come, but still they wait … and wait … and wait …

Enter Pozzo (Mo Bock), a wealthy and forceful man carrying one end of a rope with the other end tied around the neck of a human slave, ironically named Lucky (Andrei Drooz). As the scene unfolds, Lucky is ordered to dance and to “think”, or spew nonsensical, intelligent-sounding verse, for amusement of Didi, Gogo and Pozzo.

With feelings of despair and deep sadness, audience members waited for someone to step up and say what these characters were doing was wrong. By the end of the first act I was so angry that I almost left the theatre.

Still, I petulantly sat and watched act two begin, listening to several audience members laughing, all the while feeling an overwhelming anger, not only toward the story but towards the audience members for daring to laugh at such inhumanity. Eventually, I too had to laugh at what could only be intentional comic relief, but my laughter was a long time coming.

The second act presented an alternative view of the situation, in which Gogo, Didi and Lucky remain the same, but the authoritative Pozzo is now an old blind man. Pozzo is the now the helpless soul but Lucky, having been tortured, does not attempt any sort of emancipation from his master.

In the end, all that is decided is that Gogo and Didi will once again wait for Godot, their saviour – and yes, the parallels between God and Godot are obvious.

Still, the production was enormously successful, despite some major flaws with the set design. The uneven, textured terrain extending in front of the darkened entrance to the theatre caused many people to stumble as they entered to take their seats. Possibly the greatest weakness with the set was the incident involving the falling sky during the first act, which had nothing to do with Chicken Little and everything to do with poor design and/or installation.

The one saving grace for set designer Dan Rider was the use of brilliantly intertwined large branches to create the illusion of a soaring tree. Combined with creative use of blue lighting, the stunning shadow of branches cast upon the backdrop had the theatre abuzz with compliments.

But the greatest compliments have to go to the actors. Luke Davies performance of Gogo was outstanding. The disenchantment, fear, frustration and suicidal tendencies that plagued his character were flawlessly and poignantly delivered.

With an elastic face, reminiscent of Jim Carrey, Alastair Forbes’ (Didi) seemingly endless facial expressions lent a comedic air to the production that was necessary to dispel some the deep underlying sadness of the story.

Appearing courtesy of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association, actor Mo Bock (Pozzo) was a commanding force who brought years of professional acting experience to this production. His booming voice and robust nature blended to create a wonderfully rich and commanding presence even in moments of helplessness.

When the panel of the sky fell and Forbes had appeared stunned, Bock’s experience shone through as he calmly and precisely asked the younger actor, “Fix the sky, will you?” which evoked a burst of laughter from the audience and effectively brushed the incident aside.

But there is a special place reserved in actor heaven for people like Andrei Drooz (Lucky). With a rope tied around his neck, Drooz played human slave to Bock’s Pozzo. At the mercy of his master who conditioned him into a ferocious and yet submissive being, Drooz stumbled around with legs bent at awkward angles. His head hung at extreme angles, his eyes rolling into the back of his head and his mouth agape, with each wheezing breath, Drooz swayed in an effort to keep himself upright. His portrayal of a physically and emotionally battered and beaten man was at once horrific and beautiful.

Weighing heavily on the mind and the soul, Waiting for Godot left the audience exhausted, drained, humbled and maybe, just maybe, feeling a little more blessed.

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