Waiting for Godot (Howden)

Other Lives Productions is made up essentially of two people, Neil King and Richard Avery. An eight-venue tour of Waiting for Godot is an ambitious undertaking and an examination of a December press release suggests a troubled history for the production. In less than five weeks, including Christmas, the director and three of five cast members have changed – and then one was indisposed before the Howden premiere.

It is thus much to the credit of Other Lives that what we saw was an intelligent and workmanlike treatment of a difficult play, well received by a sizeable Howden audience. Richard Avery’s production has no new insights, but it is sensible and fluent, avoiding the temptation to set a portentously slow pace. The exchanges between Vladimir and Estragon are well timed and the two play off each other effectively and amusingly.

As an ensemble player Neil King impresses, but his interpretation of Vladimir is problematic. Playing the character as an academic with a cut-glass accent didn’t really work for Alec McCowen at the National 20-plus years ago – and it doesn’t really work now. Mike Burton’s Estragon is much better at confronting the blankness, even if there are rather too many throwaway lines. He and Gordon Meredith (a characterful Pozzo) are late recruits and both do well, as does director Avery, stepping in as Lucky and delivering his speech (with script ingeniously at hand) like a Welsh hellfire preacher gradually unravelling. Ross Tomlinson has the perfect neutrality of response for the Boy.

Waiting for Godot famously requires no more than a tree.  This production provides one, but little else to take the eye, and the absence of a lighting plot (at least, until the performances at Hull Truck) means that night never falls!