Waiting for Godot/No Man's Land

[atreyu]

I have little doubt that the current presentation of Waiting for Godot and No Man's Land with Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart will rank as one of the finest, if not THE finest, interpretations of these works that one is likely to find. That does not necessarily translate to being satisfying experience, though, unless you are really into absurdist drama. Which is not my cup of tea.

The attraction for me (and my sister) was watching two master craftsmen at work. McKellen and Stewart are all that they are cracked up to be in delivering every nuance and capturing every moment expertly. Shuler Hensley and Billy Crudup are no slouches either in the supporting roles. Waiting for Godot was required reading for me way back in high school, but that was 30 years ago. It was nice to see a professional, polished performance and laughs are aplenty. But when all was said and done, I was left wishing that it had been Patrick Stewart's one-man A Christmas Carol that I was paying to see.