Endgame

Synopsis

Set in a bare, partially underground room, Beckett's 1957 existentialist play finds a wheel-chair bound Hamm passing the time by ordering his servant Clov to move him around, fetch objects and peer out the window for signs of life, while his bin-dwelling parents Nagg and Nell look on.

Our Review:

11 March 2004

This, the second Beckett foray into the West End in a matter of months, was clearly going to the one of the theatrical events of the year. The paparazzi hovering outside the theatre instantly marked this as an out-of-the-ordinary evening – and it’s not often that a Beckett play is thus heralded. But then the combination of a Matthew Warchus production and the return to the London stage of Michael Gambon alongside comedian Lee Evans had the cognoscenti slavering at the chops.

Endgame centres on the relationship of four people: the blind Hamm (who can’t stand up), the crippled Clov (who can’t sit down) and Hamm’s parents, Nell and Nagg (who are even more constrained). It’s often categorised as the Beckett play with the dustbins: a reference to Nell and Nagg’s habitation. The play itself shows the four characters going through the motions of another day as they wait for the inevitable end of the world.

Not exactly a heap of laughs but, as in all B...

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Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com (195.93.34.14) - 30 April 2004:

Unforgettable. I was not looking forward to seeing Lee Evans but he gives a heart-rending performance of great variety and tenderness. Gambon is mesmerising - using his voice to stunning effect. And Irish accents add a great deal to the play. How sad that there were so many empty seats. ...

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