Waiting for Godot

First, a word about editions. This edition of WAITING FOR GODOT, though with occasional changes of covers, has long been the standard edition of the play in English. It features Beckett's translation of the play in English, and nothing else. But in more recent copies of the play, Grove has inserted a card noting that in June of 2011 this edition will be replaced by a two one, which will feature the French original alongside Beckett's translation into English. Right now this edition is still available for a fraction of the cost of the new bilingual edition, but at some point soon it will apparently go out of print, and only the new edition of  Waiting for Godot - Bilingual: A Bilingual Edition  will be available. This new edition will also feature an introduction, which the current edition lacks.Too many people forget that this is a PLAY, i.e., something that provides the words for actors on a stage. It is not primarily intended to be read in a book. Unfortunately, this is how most people experience the play, therefore depriving them of most of elements of the performance. Therefore, I am going to make a recommendation for a way of increasing the richness of your performance of the play.Though an Irishman, Beckett originally wrote the play - as he did with almost all of his works - in French first and then later translated them himself into English (in contrast, Vladimir Nabokov after moving to the United States wrote his books in English, and then translated them into French and Russian, his wife doing the translations into German). The play was originally performed in Paris, while the English-language premiere took place in Ireland. The American debut was not on Broadway, but in Miami, Florida, with Bert Lahr and Tom Ewell.Instead of merely reading the play, read it while listening to a recording of the original Broadway production of  Waiting For Godot , which starred Bert Lahr (best known as the Cowardly Lion in THE WIZARD OF OZ) as Estragon and E. G. Marshall as Vladimir. While you still wouldn't get the visual dimension of the play, hearing the actors bring the characters to life adds new layers to the play that you would never get merely by reading it. Lahr was an unexpected choice to star in the play, given that he wasn't an actor so much as a vaudevillian comedian. His acting style was too over-the-top to be convincing in film (though perfect for the Cowardly Lion); I read somewhere - I don't recall where - that he was more like a cartoon character incarnated than a human. He nonetheless gives a marvelous performance here. Marshall was one of the most distinguished stage actors of his generation and more than holds his own with Lahr while acting as more the straight man.If you listen to the recording while reading the book, the performance that will most come to life is that of Lucky. I'd read the play 2 or 3 times over the years and seen it once on the stage in which I now realize was a rather tame production, but had not really paid much attention to Lucky. His main contribution was a single, very long speech (not terribly unlike the long speech given by The Fireman in Ionesco's THE BALD SOPRANO in terms of length and its absurdity - a speech that I gave in a college performance of the play). Read on the page it can seem interesting and silly, but hearing the actor (though it wasn't indicated in the recording, Alvin Epstein played Lucky in the original Broadway production and it is almost certainly him here) perform the speech is revelatory. He doesn't say the words so much as shriek, yelp, gasp, bark, and screech them. Hearing Lucky's speech performed by a talented actor transforms your appreciation of both the speech and the play.This is one of the truly great works of the 20th Century, one of the key plays making up what Martin Esslin dubbed The Theatre of the Absurd, but it is not best experienced by reading it on the page. Try to see it performed instead, or at bare minimum in the Bert Lahr/E. G. Marshall version noted above. You wouldn't think that you had experienced a Bob Dylan song merely by reading the lyrics, and so also you won't experience WAITING FOR GODOT unless you hear or see it performed.

This TV production comes from 1961, and features Burgess Meredith and the great Zero Mostel. It was directed by Alan Scheider - who also directed the first ever production of Beckett's seminal work in the USA. That was something of a commercial and critical disaster: it opened at the Coconut Grove in Florida - where it had been advertised as the "the laugh hit of two continents" - and starred Burt Lahr, the "Cowardly Lion" from "The Wizard of Oz". The first night audience was clearly not expecting the sort of existential drama that Beckett had written - and many of them walked out during the performance. It was also comprehensively panned in press reviews. However, the production subsequently transferred to Broadway. It performed reasonably well there - but, by then, Schneider had been replaced as its director.The cast is different for this TV production, but this tape makes clear that Scheider had a deep appreciation and understanding of the piece - and how it should be played. His direction is seldom obtrusive, but never moves far from the heart of the drama, and there is a fluidity and assurance in his use of cameras which remains very impressive. Of course, Scheider was helped by a very strong cast - who not only display a high level of performance skill, but also show a convincing grasp of the play's underlying themes. This tape was recorded almost half-a-century ago, and there are inevitably a few technical glitches - but what comes across is the startlingly contemporary nature of both Beckett's work, and this production.

I'd never heard of “Max Notes” (unlike Cliff, Monarch and Spark notes). The implication is that this book contains the play, along with analytical commentary, as the description references a 1961 performance. Nope. This is purely synopsis and commentary, the poor man's Cliff notes. You have to seek the text of the play elsewhere, or watch it on YouTube. The Sparknotes analysis and commentary version is free on the internet. Don't waste your money.

The story I heard was that when this play was first performed, it was ill received by the audiences and quickly closed. Then, a group of inmates at Jolliet Prison undertook the production for their fellow prisoners. When the last line was spoken and the curtain went down, there was absolute silence, and not a dry eye in the house. They understood every nuance of the play. I'm not sure if this is a true story or not, but I like it, and I like the play. I work with people with brain injuries, and the clients that are never quite content I warmly think of as waiting for their own Godot's.

I ordered this version as well as the version starring Barry McGovern (part of the Beckett on Film Series) and although both were good, the Beckett on Film version is better. This version feels slightly dated, and not because it's in black and white (whereas the BOF version is in colour). It feels slightly overdone and a little too clownish. It's worth watching but if you have to choose one version to buy, go with the newer BOF film.

This entry makes no sense. In one section of the "Editorial Review" it mentions that this hardcover is a recording of a production at the Toronto Stratford Festival starring "McCamus and Ouimette." Then the "Production Notes" state that it stars Zero Mostel and Burgess Meredith with Kurt Kaszner and Alvin Epstein and directed by Alan Schneider. Mostel and Burgess were in an early 1950's TV version - which is quite good. But what does that have to do with this "book"? What does either? Very unclear.

This is a review of "Waiting for Godot," Naxos Audio Books; Unabridged edition (March 2006).A great play rendered in a pitch-perfect performance. Listening to this recording brought to life a play I already know quite well in new ways. The actors capture the language's cadences, the characters' vacillations between resignation and curiosity, and the play's intelligence and humor. The sound effects are simple and effective, and the recording quality flawless.

Je suis vraiment dégoûté de recevoir ce livre avec une page abîmée voir photos.Un livre que j’attendais depuis des semaines .

I read this because it’s one of those books that pops up in Must Read lists and gets referenced a lot. Having now read it I’m not sure what all the fuss is about.It’s reasonably entertaining with some decent humour and a few interesting themes and tongue-in cheek jabs at life but it’s hardly profound, powerful or very thought-provoking. Considering that the plot is close to non-existent and the book relies almost entirely on the dialogue I would have expected more from that, but, alas, no.The biggest (and, dare I say, only) plus is that it is a very quick read.

This play has been a favorite of mine since I first heard it on CBC Radio in 1995. I have enjoyed it on video and borrowed it from a sister library so many times I practically wore it out. Very nice to have my own copy and that this service is available. A tragicomedy in two acts, it seems a lot like life.

El libro de Reclam es una edición alemana del texto íntegro de la obra en inglés. Después de la obra en sí (traducida del francés al inglés por el propio Beckett) se incluyen 38 páginas de contenido adicional en alemán con los siguientes títulos: Editorische Notiz, Anmerkungen, Literaturhinweise, Nachwort.Además, a lo largo de toda la obra, se incluyen notas a pie de página con la traducción al alemán de todos los términos y expresiones que se salen del vocabulario habitual para un hablante no nativo del inglés, evitando tener que consultar el diccionario y la posible confusión en los que son de traducción poco obvia.Por tanto, una edición muy recomendable para los hablantes del alemán que quieran leer la obra en inglés, pero útil también para los no germanohablantes que sólo les interesa la obra en inglés por un precio módico.

橋詰さんの舞台でみたゴドーがとてもおもしろかったので、ギャグのもとがどんな英語なのか知りたくて買いました。観劇後のもりあがりの一環として楽しみました。