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In the same way, Im never not taken aback by recalling that Samuel BeckettsWaiting for Godotpremiered in 1953.
How can an ageless thing be only 70 years old?
How can it be seven years older than the Beatles, and also ancient, and also perpetually new?
It leaps right over hurdle No.
If it doesnt always clear hurdle No.
2, well, that onesveryhigh.
Shannon adds, I rely on Paul to help me get through my life …
I cant imagine playing Estragon with someone playing Vladimir I barely know.
I cant imagine that it seems so weird.
It seems like you shouldnt even be allowed to do this play with somebody you dont know.
Here,Godotfeels like a play about a marriage.
This isnt postwar Europe.
As far as we are anywhere, were in the United States.
Here, Didi and Gogo have none of that potentially distancing or self-shielding erudition.
Theyre Tigger and Eeyore, Sparks told Kalb and it works.
When faced with a run like this
Estragon:All the dead voices.
Vladimir:They make a noise like wings.
Estragon:Like leaves.
Vladimir:Like sand.
Vladimir:They all speak at once.
Estragon:Each one to itself.
Vladimir:Rather they whisper.
Estragon:They rustle.
Vladimir:They murmur.
It was his goddamn job after all.
(Hes well known for playingpowerlessness, but here he oozes sadistic boss energy.)
Hes funny, but he turns your stomach, too.
Its a milestone speech for an actor, and Biehl pulls it off with sinister force.
Hes not a sentimentalized victim or an airy, unbreakable clown.
Hes a savagely abused dog, and he will bite.
Estragon is there, but hes asleep, huddled up on his rock.
Finally, Tigger just cant bounce anymore.
I cant go on.
What have I said?
He will go on, of course that is the Beckett credo:You must go on.
I cant go on.
Though Sparks captures Vladimirs horrified shock at his own despair (What have I said?
), I wished I could have felt the full weight of his preceding revelation.
Steering clear of portentousness is one thing, but missing a chance to drop in is another.
Still, the truth of Didi and Gogo is that they complete each other.
Waiting for Godotis at Theatre for a New Audience through December 3.
