Blackbird Theatre presents Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, 1985 Venables St., Vancouver, Dec. 27-Jan. 21. For tickets and more information visit www.thecultch.com.
IT'S a deceptively simple premise: two men stand by the roadside waiting for another to appear.
Three others pass by, but in terms of action, that's about it.
But the skeletal plot of Waiting for Godot is still regarded as one of the most influential plays of the 20th century and contributed to earning its author, Samuel Beckett, a Nobel Prize for literature. Vancouver's Blackbird Theatre brings Beckett's masterpiece to the Vancouver East Cultural Centre starting Dec. 27.
"When you get into it, it's a really complicated and difficult play, although it doesn't seem so when you read it," said Paddy Macleod, Blackbird's general manager. "Things are going very well. The cast is wonderful and they're all Blackbirders, they've worked together with us so often, and they are really superb."
"This is one of the classic contemporary icons," she said. "That's a really overused word but it is a seminal play. (Director) John (Wright) has wanted to do it for a long time but it's never really been the right occasion. But this is it. The cast is available, so we're doing it."
Anthony Ingram and Simon Webb will take on the main characters of Vladimir and Estragon, the duo who spend the play waiting for the eponymous Godot. Their relationship, though a close one, swings from warm and humourous to downright abusive. In the second act, they are joined by Pozzo and his quasi-slave Lucky.
"Simon Webb and Anthony Ingram have played together a great deal with us," said Macleod. "William Samples is Pozzo and Adam Henderson is Lucky. All four of them have played together. The level of confidence and interplay is well honed.
"The interplay between Vladimir and Estragon - these are two old compatriots, but you never really know where from or where they go back to. Pozzo and Lucky - how did that all happen? There are all sorts of questions that don't get answered, but on the other hand, life's like that. So he's brought these four characters together and given them things to say, which you can take to mean the meaning of life or where those four people are at at the moment."
Rounding out the cast is 12-year-old Zander Constant as the Boy.
"He's an absolutely remarkable young boy. He speak French fluently, he dances, he sings, he plays the cello. This kid is a polymath and he's really, really nice," Macleod said.
While Waiting for Godot isn't the most populist fare, Macleod said Wright approached it with the intention of highlighting its lighter moments.
"People, even some of our ardent fans, put their hands on their heads and said 'Oh my god! You're not doing that!' It's a tragicomedy and so what Blackbird wants to do with it is bring out the full humour in it without in any way denuding it of its import. When you really read it and hear it, and when the actors are working together the way they should, it's really quite funny. That's very Irish, isn't it - to be very serious and also very funny."
As well as challenging audiences, Waiting for Godot presents an interesting challenge for a theatre company. Anyone who wants to stage the play must seek permission from Beckett's estate, and that blessing comes with a very firm condition.
"It's beautifully crafted, and you're not allowed to mess about with it. The estate, when you get the rights, makes you sign a rider saying that you will not change a word. If the stage directions say Vladimir comes in from stage left, that's where he's flaming well going to come in. They are very fussy about it - to the letter. That's one of the reasons it's held together all these years."
It's not only the dialogue and stage directions that are inviolable; the script also describes the costumes and set and specifically mentions that there is to be no music played. This leaves a director to work very closely with the actors' emphasis, timing and intonation.
"If you want to bring something to it of your own, you have to be very careful and do it within the framework that is provided. That's why I'm so intrigued to see what Blackbird can do with it," Macleod said.
Blackbird will stage previews of Waiting for Godot Dec. 27 and 28, before opening officially Dec. 29 and running to Jan. 21. There will also be an outreach matinee performance at the Carnegie Centre Jan. 22. So if you're looking for something outside of the usual holiday productions, Waiting for Godot is a great opportunity to see one of the most important plays of the past century, and to support the arts at the same time.
"Times are extremely difficult for smaller theatres now the gaming money is gone. It's hard to get money from the government because everyone is going after the same pot," Macleod said. "We've been fortunate in having very good individual support, but somewhere or another they are going to get tired too. So I don't know where all this is going to go. I think it's very brave of us to be doing this."
