Waiting for Godot is among a small group of plays that seem to be produced on campuses across North America in a never-ending cycle. As a result, it’s been put through a wringer of ideas by eager student directors over the years, with interesting results.
Stage Blue’s production of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot is no different. “I have stripped the absurdity of the piece away as best I can,” director Steven Dale writes in the program notes. “Beckett has given no stage direction that says his piece must be directed absurdly and I will not succumb to a stage direction that was never written.” While Beckett didn’t explicitly label his play absurdist, the choice to stage it otherwise is a risky one, and it didn’t pay off here.
Stylistically and conceptually, the play shone. The minimalist set, void of colour and bare save for a single leafless tree, echoed the loneliness of the text. When the actors showed up, however, the show began to struggle. Absurd or not, Beckett’s play relies on the relationships formed on stage, especially between the central duo of Vladimir and Estragon. While Jennifer Orpana’s performace as Estragon had moments of clarity and resonance, her portrayal was often generic, and Chris Bilton as Vladimir delivered his lines in a largely incoherent mumble. The two failed to establish any emotional connection—when they spoke of parting, there seemed no reason to stop them. Ericka Skirpan’s over-the-top, one-note performance as Pozzo was almost cringe-worthy at times, making Catriona James’ largely silent, but wonderfully physical portrayal of her servant, Lucky, a refreshing distraction.
In the end, stripping the play of its nature left it sterile. The production, with its modern costuming, streamlined set and young cast, seemed like a Gap commercial gone Beckett. “You find it tedious?” Pozzo asks near the end of the play’s first act. One was apt to agree with Vladimir when he replies, “I’ve been better entertained.
