Waiting for Godot

  • 2010/2011 Season
  • Waiting for Godot
    Performed in Japanese
  • THE PIT

Rounding out the "Japan Meets" series is a monumental work that altered the course of theatre worldwide.
Waiting for Godot was not well received when it premiered in 1953 in Paris, but the play has since gone down in history as a seminal piece of theatre of the absurd. This cornerstone of contemporary theatre is still performed across the globe. The play premiered in Japan in 1965 and has been produced numerous times since, having a profound impact on such playwrights as Betsuyaku Minoru and many others along the way.
For this production, we welcome Hashizume Isao and Ishikura Saburo in their NNTT debuts. The verbal sparring between these two veteran stage actors should make for some wonderfully fresh and spirited exchanges.

SYNOPSIS

We see a single tree beside a country road.
Evening.
Estragon sits at the side of the road. He tries to remove his boots, but for some reason can't. Vladimir soon appears, and they engage in idle conversation. In time, Estragon is about to leave, only to be stopped by Vladimir.
Estragon: Why not?
Vladimir: We're waiting for Godot.
Estragon: Ah!
Neither man has ever met Godot. They keep waiting. Two more men appear: Pozzo and Lucky. Before long, Lucky begins to wax philosophically.
After the two leave, a boy arrives with a message from Godot. He says that he cannot come tonight, but will surely come tomorrow.
The next day in the same spot, at the same time, Estragon and Vladimir are again waiting for Godot.