Anna Burnside reviews a new production of the classic play.
Didi and Gogo are stuck at the end of a post-apocalyptic highway with only a stunted tree for company. This has somehow grown up through the door of a dismembered car and points towards the sky with menacing, stumpy branches.
The old boys take it in turns to perch on a disreputable seat that may have once been part of the vehicle.
Male double acts are a comedy staple, from The Odd Couple to Still Game. Under the direction of Dominic Hill, Matthew Kelly and George Costigan play this one in a minor key. Kelly, as the irascible Estragon, constantly resists his friend’s attempts to distract him from his sore feet and existential gloom.
The pair, friends IRL, rub along in a perfectly choreographed duet of eating root vegetables from Costigan’s pockets, swapping hats and trying yoga positions. With their shaggy beards and disintegrating workwear, they look like baristas who have slept in a hedge.
Pozzo, an effervescent Gbolahan Obisesan, disturbs their monochrome monotony with his yellow gloves and chartreuse fur coat. Michael Hodgson is an effective Lucky, mute and gnarled until his one monologue bursts out.
Delicious flashes of Two Ronnies wordplay and physical comedy aside, this wait for Godot is essentially a bleak one. Pozzo is a needy narcissist, constantly fishing for compliments. The two auld fellas, confused and alone at the side of a lost highway, are left with nothing but each other.
Waiting for Godot performs at Citizens Theatre until March 14, 2026. For further information, go to the production’s website.
Photo by Mihaela Bodlovic.
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