Waiting for Godot at Theatre Royal Haymarket

Samuel Beckett’s absurdist classic, Waiting for Godot is given a new outing at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, directed by James McDonald. While the performances seethe with humanity and the approach is fresh, some of the work’s distinctive pathos is lost in translation.

The central duo of Estragon (Gogo) and Vladimir (Didi) is masterfully played by Lucian Msamati and Ben Whishaw. The two contrast in physicality and perspective – Gogo hefty and jaded, Didi doggedly optimistic and full of nervous energy – but both are so very human in their desire for significance, which they stumble upon in their compassion for one another. 

The aesthetic (masterminded by Rae Smith) is decidedly bleak: a barren, greyish prospect with only a bald tree and a concrete cinder block punctuating the emptiness (perhaps referencing the characters’ stolid determination to endure amid futility, green leaves emerging in the second half). Costumes are similarly modern, the all too familiar uniform of the 21^st-century “tramp” evidenced in ragged sportswear and trainers. A mental health-aware contemporary audience will likely recognise the erratic, disenfranchised vulnerability in the portrayal here, and perhaps baulk at the parody of intellectual disability in Tom Edden’s committed turn as Lucky. Jonathan Slinger, as his master, brings an almost relentlessly blithe Pozzo, complementing the tragicomic absurdity, and also providing something like “light relief”.

And this where where the production falls a little short of Beckett’s distinctive and fiercely protected thrust. Yes, the gentle gags, awkward physical humour and appeals over the fourth wall at the audience are charming, and the cabaret-style hat exchange sequence will likely offer playful comfort to some inevitably baffled West End theatregoers, but the populist payoff risks denying the work its unique tone and poignancy. There’s an argument this might be a good thing – after all, Beckett’s play is not an easy one to chew on, and perhaps allowing some of the more comedic elements to blossom makes for a more accessible experience. God knows the show has to make it through a three-month run in the heart of theatreland somehow, with modern audiences less and less inclined to sit through anything that doesn’t move at a million miles a minute.

Nonetheless, brilliant performances, eerily affecting staging and a convincing, heartrending friendship ensure McDonald’s Waiting for Godot remains broadly compelling.