Waiting for Godot

So, I saw Waiting for Godot on Good Friday. It was surprisingly enjoyable. I mean I knew that I’d adore Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan but I also ended up enjoyed the play for the play. I was quite surprised when it wasn’t just the two of them in it – Simon Callow was playing a character named Pozzo and a guy named Ronald Pickup was playing Lucky, plus a local kid with just a few lines. I found the sections with Pozzo and Lucky the dullest parts but that may been in contrast to the other two’s performance. Now please forgive me readers, I don’t feel I have the tools or the knowledge to properly review the show. I’m not a thespian and it’s not a world I’m particularly comfortable in. But here goes.

Stewart and McKellen had such warmth to them – I felt it as soon as they walked on stage, and I was pretty far back, in the circle (and unable to focus on their faces properly, but that’s mostly because I’m a short sighted mole). It was obvious that they’ve both worked together several times before, they had such chemistry and it really helped their particular portrayal of the two old tramps, Gogo and Didi. I really felt that I was watching to old mates on stage, as in, it felt very real and not like I was watching a performance.

The last thing I saw at the theatre was Osage County back in January – that felt very constructed, like I was watching people act. My sister informed me that that is a specific type of acting, and involves a particular style of directing. If so, it’s not something I get on with. Waiting for Godot involved acknowledgement of the audience, but felt very natural.

It was a very funny, loose performance. There was dancing and singing and hat raising. It was good. I believe they are now off to London after having toured the UK and I bet they’ll go down a storm there too.

I still have a big crush on Patrick Stewart. I didn’t hang around and stalk either of them after the show.

Anyone else seen it? Thoughts?

I've been a bit delayed with blog posts recently, I have a few written up but am slow to post. Over the next few days I intend to post reviews of last weeks comics, some manga recommendations and I've still got a huge pile of JLA stuff to write up about. I think I'd liked to be cloned now please. But probably not in a dirty Booster kind of way.