Review: Waiting for Godot, Octagon Theatre, Bolton

Theatre should always provoke emotion in an audience but thus far, via various incarnations, the only ones Samuel Beckett’s play has stirred up in me have been confusion, annoyance, apathy and worst of all boredom.

At best I’ve been underwhelmed, at worst left totally baffled as to why it is regularly cited as a classic.

Matthew Kelly as Estragon and George Costigan, Vladimir, in Waiting for Godot (Picture: Mihaela Bodlovic)

So it was with some trepidation that I approached the Octagon.

As the tramps Vladimir and Estragon, George Costigan and Matthew Kelly deliver something of an acting masterclass as two ageing gentlemen of the road awaiting the arrival of the mysterious Godot.

Who he is and what they expect from him is never revealed, but they feel compelled to return to the same spot every day in the hope he will turn up.

Theirs is a bleak existence, it is a life without purpose. So they bicker, they jest, they tease and they insult each other – basically to pass the time.

Matthew Kelly as Estragon and George Costigan, Vladimir, in Waiting for Godot (Picture: Mihaela Bodlovic)

Of the pair, Costigan’s Vladimir is the more optimistic, certainly the more energised. He has a wicked twinkle in his eye at times, dreaming up ways of keeping his road companion amused. But old age has left him with a dodgy prostate and in his quieter moments he’s prone to reflect on the purpose of it all.

Matthew Kelly as Estragon in Waiting for Godot (Picture: Mihaela Bodlovic)

Matthew Kelly’s Estragon is the more world weary. His boots hurt him, he craves sleep and his memory is failing him. He’s the more childlike of the two; a shrunken bear of a man prone to tantrums and also wondering what is the point.

In real life the actors have been friends for years and that closeness adds an extra dimension to their performance. And it’s here the secret to Waiting for Godot lies. These two central characters hold the piece together. It’s their relationship which is essential to the piece.

It was a joy to watch two such accomplished actors go about their craft. Their timing, their physical comedy and their ability to instantly shift from bravado to bewilderment was riveting; a hat swapping scene was worthy of the greats of the silent cinema.

In previous productions I’ve seen, the pair have simply come across as a nihilistic version of the Chuckle Brothers. But in this world bereft of hope, you could sense the love the two characters share for each other. They are both flawed, failing and cast adrift by an uncaring world and unable to cope without one another.

George Costigan, Vladimir, and Matthew Kelly as Estragon with Pozzo played by Gbolahan Obisesan in Waiting for Godot (Picture: Mihaela Bodlovic)

Into the pair’s miserable world comes Pozzo, played by Gbolahan Obisesan. He’s a riot of colour in a monochrome landscape; a loud, swaggering bully of a character dragging his slave Lucky behind him.

Honestly. I still don’t really know what he symbolises or why he’s there; other than to give Vladimir and Estragon something to talk about.

But it’s a very strong performance; his return in the second half having suddenly become blind, perhaps indicating that even the mighty can fall.

Michael Hodgson as Lucky in Waiting for Godot (Picture: Mihaela Bodlovic)

Michael Hodgson as Lucky was genuinely unnerving. A giant rope around his neck leaving painful looking sores, his posture and primeval yelps proved really disturbing. Then his lengthy, surreal monologue, as well as being a real feat of memory, just added to the other worldliness of it all.

The simple stage setting, with some great lighting, helped to build the claustrophobic atmosphere of Vladimir’s and Estragon’s bleak world.

Without wishing to attract the ire of Beckett scholars, I still think there’s an element of Emperor’s New Clothes about the whole thing.

But as far as this production was concerned, it was a privilege to witness the performances of Messrs Corrigan and Kelly. That ladies and gentlemen is how to act, how to hold an audience, how to move an audience – and all in a play in which nothing really happens.

Until May 2. Details from www.octagonbolton.co.uk