By Tina Hawley
For the first time in more than twenty years, the Brigham Young University Department of Theatre and Media Arts is performing Samuel Beckett’s classic tragicomedy Waiting for Godot, and this student-directed production is a work of art. It’s hard to describe to those who have never seen it why Waiting for Godot (originally written in the 50s) is a gripping watch: the setting is ambiguous, the plot consists of two men waiting by a tree for a man who never appears, and the dialogue is philosophical and often nonsensical. Dozens of questions are posed to which answers are never given. And yet, it’s those questions that won’t leave my mind long after the play is over. Add that to the wonderful three-dimensional characters that BYU’s actors have created, and you have a hilarious, high-energy production that is well worth the watch.
Fit for an absurdist piece, Joanna Noall’s scenic design consists merely of black chalkboard walls and floor, which Vladimir and Estragon write on in the vain hope of preserving their pasts, and a single ladder-tree. The chalk is an intriguing motif that emphasizes the temporary, meaningless nature of all that happens onstage. The scenery’s simplicity is mirrored in the lighting (Stephen Warren) and the props (Alison Rino), and the costumes (Nat Smith), rich with small bits and pieces as they are, are just complex enough to enhance the actors’ performances rather than distract.
Student director Michael Avila stated after the show that one of his goals for this production was to make sure it was entertaining. I say he has succeeded, thanks in large part to the wonderful characterization the actors have given to their characters. Skyler Denfeld as Vladimir and Caleb Hafen as Estragon craft a deeply loving relationship through dialogue and movement that can frankly be called adorable. As entertaining as the other characters are, I found myself often looking forward to the time when Vladimir and Estragon would be alone together again, just because I enjoyed their chemistry so much. Each of the two is also a distinct character in his own right: Estragon as a congenial, airheaded buffoon and Vladimir as a lonely pontificating scholar who hides his suffering behind big words and a lofty air. Denfeld’s raw emotional acting is particularly stunning in the play’s final scene.
Alex Glover as Pozzo is intriguingly complex, inciting hatred with his cruelty to Lucky one minute and drawing sympathy with his own neediness the next. Nathan Young as the mostly silent Lucky initially impressed me with his subtlety of body language, then with his insane monologuing skills when Lucky “thinks.” That scene is also one of the funniest in the play, as Lucky spouts academic-sounding word salad in a never-ending stream of mind-melding confusion while the other characters run about the stage in a panic. It’s clear that the actors are enjoying themselves while still bent on realizing the smallest details of their characters.
One of the strongest evidences of this is the scenes between Vladimir and the Boy (Cooper Tribbet). Tribbet creates a child many years younger than the other characters through voice and stance, and he has pinpoint timing in the abrupt silences and deadpan stares meant to leave both Vladimir and the audience unsettled and uncertain about reality. Overall the silences are what elevate this play from merely a fun, nonsensical romp to a think piece that makes you scratch the depths of your mind to make meaning of.
And there is meaning to Vladimir and Estragon’s growing boredom and impatience, though Avila prefers to leave each audience member to make his or her own meaning: “I invite you to lean into the absurdity of life and discover these things for yourself.”
BYU’s Waiting for Godot performs tonight and twice tomorrow. Please take advantage of the opportunity to view a classic that has good reason to still be relevant over fifty years later!
Brigham Young University Department of Theatre and Media Arts Presents Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett.
Nelke Theatre, Franklin S. Harris Fine Arts Center, Brigham Young University, Provo UT 84602
February 20–22, 2020, 7:30 PM, 2:00 PM Saturday matinee
Get Tickets: $5.00, no babies or children under 12 permitted.
BYU Department of Theatre and Media Arts Facebook Page
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