Last Thursday, the fall 2019 season officially kicked off for ETSU’s Department of Theatre and Dance with its opening night of “Waiting for Godot.” Samuel Beckett’s two and a half hour tragicomedy filled Bud Frank Theatre with moments of laughter, silence and shock.
“‘Waiting for Gadot’ is a play that I’ve always loved and enjoyed, but getting to have it put on with such talented artists really makes this play stand out in my mind,” said Madison Phillips, the sound board operator. “Preview and opening night were wonderful. The cast and designers have worked so hard the past month and are really doing an amazing job, so I was excited the time had finally come for them to share their hard work and dedication to the public.”
The play starred Ryan Leonard as Estragon, Ben Patterson as Vladimir, Darrius Akridge as Pozzo, Ethan Harbin as Lucky and Harry Harker as Boy. The play centers around Estragon and Vladimir and their encounters while waiting for a mysterious man named Godot. While waiting for Godot, they encounter a man named Pozzo with a servant named Lucky. They pass the time through inquiries and casual discussion before they part ways. After they part ways, Boy comes out and tells them that Mr. Godot will be coming this evening and that he will be there tomorrow.
The second act then begins after a 10-minute intermission and the play finds Estragon and Vladimir repeating the events of the day before, while waiting for Godot, but things are different now. Pozzo claims he is blind and has no recollection of them, and after a bit of banter with the two, Pozzo and Lucky leave again for Boy to come out and say that Mr. Godot will come back tomorrow, giving a sense of an endless loop.
The feeling of confusion, an endless loop and peculiarity are a few key aspects in Beckett’s plays, which lend to the concepts of absurdism.
“Absurdism has lots of aspects, but one you will see when you come is the theme of a loss of mankind and that there is no logic,” Phillips said. “This is apparent in the dialogue and actions of the characters because they lack motivation and hope.”
Phillips went on to explain why Beckett favored absurdism in his work.
“Absurdism was created in response to the A-Bomb,” Phillips said. “So in the 1950s, these style of plays became fairly popular … This is something people do not see often and get a little confused at, but it all is a part of the style and notion of having no rhyme or reason or hope. By just having a play about two men waiting would be tough to sit through if it wasn’t presented in a comedic way, which this show does.”
As the show came to a close, the audience gave a huge applause to the five characters as the show was well-received.
“This play is hilarious, and the actors have such good comedic timing and make such good choices,” Phillips said. “It really makes for a night in the theatre. Despite having seen it several times, I find myself still cracking up every night.”
