Waiting for Godot
Wow!
Jennifer, Tisa, Ray, Michael, Dana and I were off tonight to Théâtre des Lucioles located near the ramparts at the northern edge of the city. Remember, everything within the walls is accessible on foot. It was a 15 minute walk, with stops for directions along the way.
I go to these plays with very little in the way of expectations. I wonder how they will perform the plays. I wonder what the space will look like. I wonder what the seats will be like, and if my knees will hate me when it's over.
The theater was modern. We sat on lovely velvety red seats which were in amphitheater style. The seats housed my hips comfortably, but denied my knees the room required. I had to sit either with my legs wide or turn myself towards my neighbor who luckily had left a seat between us. The action took place on the stage floor. There was a leafless tree and my favorite part of the stage, a large circle, with sand and gravel, and two larger stones on which the actors stood or squated from time to time. Upstage, there was a wide curtain, onto which was projected with the aid of two spotlights, shadows with which the actors played, and the rising moon. The action mainly took place in the circle--with occasional breaks off circle, but which would inevitably bring us back to --the circle. I thought about wrestling the whole time, and if you saw these actors, many times their movements resembled wrestling moves...
I've never seen such a dynamic performance of this play. In fact, I haven't seen any performance of this play.
The actors were extremely physical, powerfully expressive...They drew us into their characters, their rapport with each other and their world, of poverty, hope and absurdity...
From the very first scene, we feel the pain of a shoe that is too tight and must be removed. I expected to see blood when Gogo (Estragon) finally removed his shoe. DiDi (his counterpart) was fabulous. Both men were. Man, I felt repulsion, horror, and empathy for the violent Pozzo...and Lucky, his slave, lapdog...what have you...man..men...bodies...skin...
I enjoyed the French teacher in me who listened and caught the ways in which the verb "attendre" (to wait for) would be used. In going to see some of the plays we are reading, what I enjoy the most is hearing the play. I love to hear what the words sound like, and I realize that when I read, it is silent. In my mind, I visualize the play, the action, but I do not hear it. The actor's voices and expression become precious boons of the theatrical experience.
This performance was scheduled for 22h30 (10:30 pm), however it didn't get started until closer to 23h00. Despite my 3.5 hr fitful nap this afternoon and the caffeine, I was unable to keep my eyes open for 1/4 of the play, but I loved being there, in the theater...it was beautiful. Inspiring...
I'm playing Electra in a series of scenes in a few days...these actors, the way they embodied Beckett's men -- the skill, the practice...I want so much to be like them...real--believable in a world -- a stage created just for them...sigh...I didn't want Godot to show up...Well, he never did...
1 comment:
That's interesting what you say about the stage and the wrestling mat. Beckett never wanted the play filmed, but a TV production was done. Apparently, he hated it. “My play,” he said, “wasn’t written for this box. My play was written for small men locked in a big space. Here you’re all too big for the place."
Wikipedia has some interesting thiings about prisoners (who know something about waiting) putting on versions of it.
When I was at NYU there was a production in which the two tramps traded roles every night. One night Actor A would play Vladimir and the next he would play Estragon. I always liked that concept.
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