Waiting for Godot (White Light Festival) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (30)
See it if Hynes' stylish (& highly stylized) staging of 20th century classic accentuates comedic over stoic Impeccible performances from ensemble
Don't see it if Thankfully, due mostly to actors' craft the existential pathos of the melodrama is allowed to breathe amid all the physical highjinks
See it if you would like to see a better-than-decent account of the play that revolutionized post-World War II drama on both sides of the Atlantic.
Don't see it if you have no tolerance for performances that milk every bit of dramatic business for every lingering guffaw that might be found. Read more
See it if fan of Beckett, to hear it in Beckett's Irish, encounter a new staging, feel the frustration & boredom of the characters, confront darkness
Don't see it if not a Beckett fan, expect a plot & conventional characters, want action more than talk, want realistic setting, no patience for the unusual
See it if you want the quintessential, standard-bearing Waiting for Godot experience—especially if you’re bringing a new initiate. It’s the real deal.
Don't see it if No movie stars in this one. Real deal. Read more
See it if want a new and and very funny take on an existential classic, wonderful Irish actors (a Druid production), slapstick humor
Don't see it if want a more natural relationship between Gogo & Didi, one less slapstick; don't like long plays (first act especially long) Read more
See it if Master class.
Don't see it if No reason.
See it if Beckett's classic performed by wonderful Irish actors from the Druid Theatre Company . The actors exhibit great dexterity and humor.
Don't see it if You are not a fan of Beckett's work. Even if you dislike this specific play, it is so well done and different from recent NYC productions.
See it if you love theater. It is a classic and a wonderfully insightful production with splendid acting. The first act is slow but come back
Don't see it if you have little tolerance for the frustration so central to the theater of the absurd and the existential sense of impotence in the world
Critic Reviews (21)
"Watching Garry Hynes’s highly stylized and very funny staging of this classic of modern literature, I found myself transported to Saturday mornings with Looney Tunes from my childhood...What you may find yourself missing is the deeply touching familiarity of Gogo and Didi’s relationship...Still, for theatergoers new to Beckett, I can’t imagine a better introduction than this lucid and entertaining cartoon of a show. That its comic exaggeration can feel a bit distancing may be for the best."
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"The production excels at finding the humor in the mundane; it pierces with a gracious, poignant truth of friendship. Haynes mines the piece for its quiet moments and visceral existential angst and vaudeville farce. She firmly redefines our notion of tragic daily rituals while finding the necessary, vital humor...There's immense heart to this production...Hynes direction is assured, filled with comedic grace and the brittle tension of daily grind."
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“Hynes' production has an artfully cartooned quality all its own...The actors seem to leap from one comic conceit to another with such skill that some of the play's darker, deeper notes are obscured. But, in the later passages, a genuine and profound sense of loss emerges...For all its comic invention, Hynes' approach may not be to all tastes...In any case, it's a fine chance...to contemplate the very real synchronicity between Beckett's viewpoint and black humor."
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"What I hadn’t been prepared for was her eye-popping casting of tall, pencil-thin Marty Rea as Vladimir and of shorter, inevitably wider Aaron Monaghan as Estragon...Both Rea and Monaghan are first-rate physical actors...Monaghan and Rea, with Hynes, have discovered funny ways not to be able to maintain their balance. They’re constantly brimming with risible behaviors...It’s Beckett who transforms the confused stand-up communications into profound existential humor."
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"A very fine staging...A truly radiant interpretation of Beckett’s challenging work. The closely meshed performances by Rea and Monaghan possess a personal warmth and vitality that brightens the existential desolation of Beckett’s classic...Somehow they are able to be as funny as they are poignant, and that’s quite an achievement...Garry Hynes, the director, successfully infuses Beckett’s bleak study in existence with a warm, wonderful sense of humor and eternal life."
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"Ms. Hynes has the cast at full speed emphasizing slapstick and employing stylized poses and gestures...Movement director Nick Winston’s efforts are accomplished if overdone. The plethora of gags and set up punchline recitation gets laughs at the expense of emotional resonance...This 'Waiting for Godot' is overall pleasing without making much of an impact."
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“Never have I experienced ‘Waiting for Godot’ in such a brand new way than I did with director Hynes’ interpretation...By far the funniest version I’ve seen and it hits closest to home with Beckett’s text. The production fully embraces the possibilities of comedy, both through text and movement in this otherwise very quiet play. The result is deeply satisfying. It galvanizes an unsettling, surreal, and entertaining version of ‘Godot’.”
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"Combines the play’s signature existentialist angst with slapstick comedy for a brilliant and affecting synthesis of philosophical and physical absurdism...Profound and ridiculous, Druid’s stellar production of 'Waiting for Godot' is a testament to the exceptional talents of the director, actors, and design team, and provides a reaffirmation of the power of Theater of the Absurd in making us think about our inescapable mortality and questioning the purpose of our existence."
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