Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen to Star in Becket's Waiting for Godot
Two Hollywood heavyweights and veterans of the West End stage unite to play Beckett's hopeless tramps at The Theatre Royal Haymarket.
Running from May 6th until June 28th, 2009, Waiting for Godot will play at The Royal Haymarket with a truly distinguished cast. Directed by Sean Mathias, Beckett's classic focusses on the lives of two impoverished tramps 'Estragon' (McKellen) and 'Vladimir' (Stewart) as they wait fruitlessly for the arrival of the mysterious character 'Godot'.
A bleak, and bludgeoning review of modern life, Waiting for Godot had a famously mixed reception when it was first staged in English in 1955 at The Arts Theatre in London. One famous critique of the play published in the Irish Times described it as "A play in which nothing happens, twice!"
Despite some early reservations, the play quickly established itself as a modern classic. For example, in 1999, the play was described in the Massachusetts Review as "The most significant English language play of the 20th Century."
Two of the most respected British actors, Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart have appeared together before in the X-Men film trilogy. Pitted against one another as the evil 'Magneto' (McKellen) and the compassionate scientist 'Dr Xavier' (Stewart), the two RSC actors have successfully applied their art to all mediums: on stage, on television and in huge Hollywood films.
Playing in the West End for only a limited run, the chance to see this epoch-defining piece of drama performed by such talented actors is not to be passed up. In the meantime, keep tuning in to Show and Stay's® news pages for the latest in ticket information and theatre news.
Published by: Nathan Brooker
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