0:00:07.064,0:00:09.094 A shabby man named Estragon, 0:00:09.094,0:00:12.924 sits near a tree at dusk and struggles to remove his boot. 0:00:12.924,0:00:14.804 He’s soon joined by his friend Vladimir, 0:00:14.804,0:00:17.104 who reminds his anxious companion that 0:00:17.104,0:00:20.564 they must wait here for someone called Godot. 0:00:20.564,0:00:23.964 So begins a vexing cycle in which the two debate 0:00:23.964,0:00:26.484 when Godot will come, why they’re waiting, 0:00:26.484,0:00:29.794 and whether they’re even at the right tree. 0:00:29.794,0:00:32.994 From here, Waiting for Godot only gets stranger - 0:00:32.994,0:00:35.504 but it’s considered a play that changed 0:00:35.504,0:00:37.634 the face of modern drama. 0:00:37.634,0:00:41.963 Written by Samuel Beckett between 1949 and 1955, 0:00:41.963,0:00:45.623 it offers a simple but stirring question - 0:00:45.623,0:00:49.873 what should the characters do? 0:00:49.873,0:00:52.963 Estragon: Don’t let's do anything. It's safer. 0:00:52.963,0:00:56.663 Vladimir: Let’s wait and see what he says. 0:00:56.663,0:00:57.993 Estragon: Who? 0:00:57.993,0:00:59.663 Vladimir: Godot. 0:00:59.663,0:01:01.693 Estragon: Good idea. 0:01:01.693,0:01:04.223 Such cryptic dialogue and circular reasoning are 0:01:04.223,0:01:07.163 key features of the Theatre of the Absurd, 0:01:07.163,0:01:10.413 a movement which emerged after the Second World War 0:01:10.413,0:01:12.263 and found artists struggling 0:01:12.263,0:01:15.183 to find meaning in devastation. 0:01:15.183,0:01:19.343 The absurdists deconstructed plot, character and language 0:01:19.343,0:01:21.853 to question their meaning and share 0:01:21.853,0:01:25.633 their profound uncertainty on stage. 0:01:25.633,0:01:27.613 While this may sound grim, 0:01:27.613,0:01:30.793 the absurd blends its hopelessness with humor. 0:01:30.793,0:01:33.373 This is reflected in Beckett’s unique approach 0:01:33.373,0:01:35.493 to genre in Waiting for Godot, 0:01:35.493,0:01:39.633 which he branded “a tragicomedy in two acts." 0:01:39.633,0:01:42.083 Tragically, the characters are locked in an 0:01:42.083,0:01:45.203 existential conundrum: they wait in vain 0:01:45.203,0:01:47.963 for an unknown figure to give them a sense of purpose, 0:01:47.963,0:01:49.863 but their only sense of purpose 0:01:49.863,0:01:52.583 comes from the act of waiting, 0:01:52.583,0:01:55.263 While they wait, they sink into boredom, 0:01:55.263,0:02:00.253 express religious dread and contemplate suicide. 0:02:00.253,0:02:03.683 But comically, there is a jagged humor to their predicament, 0:02:03.683,0:02:06.513 which comes across in their language and movements. 0:02:06.513,0:02:09.733 Their interactions are filled with bizarre wordplay, 0:02:09.733,0:02:11.613 repetition and double entendres, 0:02:11.613,0:02:14.723 as well as physical clowning, singing and dancing, 0:02:14.725,0:02:17.325 and frantically swapping their hats. 0:02:17.325,0:02:19.955 It’s often unclear whether the audience is supposed to 0:02:19.955,0:02:22.835 laugh or cry - or whether Beckett saw 0:02:22.835,0:02:25.855 any difference between the two. 0:02:25.855,0:02:27.915 Born in Dublin, Beckett studied English, 0:02:27.915,0:02:30.895 French and Italian before moving to Paris, 0:02:30.895,0:02:33.605 where he spent most of his life writing theatre, 0:02:33.605,0:02:35.705 poetry and prose. 0:02:35.705,0:02:38.575 While Beckett had a lifelong love of language, 0:02:38.575,0:02:42.575 he also made space for silence by incorporating gaps, 0:02:42.575,0:02:46.575 pauses and moments of emptiness into his work. 0:02:46.575,0:02:50.265 This was a key feature of his trademark 0:02:50.265,0:02:53.155 uneven tempo and black humor, 0:02:53.155,0:02:56.405 which became popular throughout the Theatre of the Absurd. 0:02:56.405,0:02:58.885 He also cultivated a mysterious persona, 0:02:58.885,0:03:02.235 and refused to confirm or deny any speculations 0:03:02.235,0:03:04.585 about the meaning of his work. 0:03:04.585,0:03:06.175 This kept audiences guessing, 0:03:06.175,0:03:09.395 increasing their fascination with his surreal worlds 0:03:09.395,0:03:12.427 and enigmatic characters. 0:03:12.427,0:03:15.287 The lack of any clear meaning makes Godot 0:03:15.287,0:03:17.547 endlessly open to interpretation. 0:03:17.547,0:03:20.767 Critics have offered countless readings of the play, 0:03:20.767,0:03:24.387 resulting in a cycle of ambiguity and speculation 0:03:24.387,0:03:27.627 that mirrors the plot of the drama itself. 0:03:27.627,0:03:30.727 It's been read as an allegory of the Cold War, 0:03:30.727,0:03:33.217 the French Resistance, 0:03:33.217,0:03:36.227 and Britain’s colonization of Ireland. 0:03:36.227,0:03:38.317 The dynamic of the two protagonists has 0:03:38.317,0:03:40.467 also sparked intense debate. 0:03:40.467,0:03:43.307 They’ve been read as survivors of the apocalypse, 0:03:43.307,0:03:45.817 an aging couple, two impotent friends, 0:03:45.817,0:03:51.537 and even as personifications of Freud’s ego and id. 0:03:51.537,0:03:53.707 Famously, Beckett said the only thing he could 0:03:53.707,0:03:56.707 be sure of was that Vladimir and Estragon 0:03:56.707,0:03:59.667 were "wearing bowler hats." 0:03:59.667,0:04:02.567 Like the critical speculation and maddening plot, 0:04:02.567,0:04:05.227 their language often goes in circles as the two 0:04:05.235,0:04:08.405 bicker and banter, lose their train of thought, 0:04:08.405,0:04:11.285 and pick up right where they left off:[br][br] 0:04:11.285,0:04:14.335 Vladimir: We could start all over again perhaps 0:04:14.335,0:04:16.475 Estragon: That should be easy 0:04:16.475,0:04:19.395 Vladimir: It’s the start that’s difficult 0:04:19.395,0:04:21.815 Estragon: You can start from anything 0:04:21.815,0:04:24.285 Vladimir: Yes, but you have to decide. 0:04:24.285,0:04:28.175 Beckett reminds us that just like our daily lives, 0:04:28.175,0:04:31.245 the world onstage doesn’t always make sense. 0:04:31.245,0:04:34.925 It can explore both reality and illusion, 0:04:34.925,0:04:37.025 the familiar and the strange. 0:04:37.025,0:04:40.555 And although a tidy narrative still appeals, 0:04:40.555,0:04:45.575 the best theatre keeps us thinking – and waiting.