Will He Ever Show Up?

Reviewed by Mary Alderson

In the TV series Seinfeld, the character George Costanza famously pitches the idea of “a show about nothing” to NBC executives. Many people thought that the series itself was about nothing: just the day-to-day mundane activities of four quirky people.

Well, Waiting for Godot is a play about nothing, with four quirky characters. Four very strange people, in fact.

Now on stage at Stratford’s Festival Theatre, this strange play has a short run, by Stratford standards. It closes July 31, wisely. It was the only show I attended during opening week that didn’t have a sold-out crowd.

Written originally in French by Irishman Samuel Beckett in 1954, Waiting for Godot has been called the most important play in “absurdist theatre”. Why? Because it’s absurd.

I remember being assigned to read it in university. When I found on my bookcase yesterday, I obviously never read it. The paperback hadn’t been cracked. No pages were turned beyond the first few. I think I realized that nothing much was going to happen, so there was no point in reading further.

The cover says it’s a tragicomedy in two acts. It’s a tragedy because of the futility of the lives of the two main characters. It’s a comedy, because sometimes it’s so absurd that it’s funny.

Two men, Estragon and Vladimir, appear on stage, dressed like tramps in ragged, dirty old clothes. We assume they are unhoused and hungry, when Vladimir offers Estragon a radish or a turnip. “Are there no carrots?” Estragon asks. Vladimir replies “No. Anyway you overdo it with your carrots.”  That’s a sample of the conversation they have: sometimes it’s friendly, sometimes they argue, but mostly their talk is inane. They are waiting beside a tree in the barren countryside to see a man called Godot. If Godot doesn’t meet them, perhaps they will have an existential crisis.

Later they are joined by Pozzo and Lucky. Pozzo is well dressed in a bright red suit, bowler hat and flowing cape. But he is a nasty and miserable person. He has tied a rope around the neck of the other man. Although he is named Lucky, he is not. Pozzo cracks a whip and orders Lucky to carry his suitcase and picnic basket. Pozzo holds the end of the rope that is tied around Lucky’s neck and they continue their travels. Lucky is dressed in dirty, tattered clothes, like the first two.

Godot doesn’t show up, and Estragon and Vladimir decide to return to the spot that next day to wait for him again. That day Pozzo and Lucky return with no recollection of meeting the other two the day before. These two make you wonder about the meaning of life in this senseless world. Nothing really changes. Godot does not show up, but a child reports that they should try again tomorrow.

Even though I don’t “get” Waiting for Godot, I can rest assured that it is well done. Two of Stratford’s finest actors, Tom McCamus (Estragon) and Paul Gross (Vladimir) are playing the parts. They are always interesting as they bicker and banter, even though the conversation generally leads nowhere.

Jonathan Goad is Pozzo and David W. Keeley is Lucky. Again, two great Stratford actors who are absurd in this absurdist play. If you think an absurdist tragicomedy might be your cup of tea, then certainly this is the production to see with this particular cast.

This play is a condemnation of the futility of life. Most of us lead boring lives, doing the same old things day in, day out. The Festival decided to produce this play alongside Death of a Salesman, another story about how useless and futile life can be. We recognize it in Death of a Salesman, because we all know someone like that, someone who has spent his life lying to himself about how great he is, until reality catches up to him. We probably don’t know anyone who is literally like Estragon and Vladimir. But if we consider them as symbols of pointless, fruitless lives, then yes, we do know them.

Who is Godot?  Maybe it’s God, and Estragon and Vladimir are just searching for a deity to give their lives meaning. But so far, Godot remains a no-show.

Waiting for Godot continues in repertory until July 31 at the Festival Theatre, Stratford. Tickets are available at the Stratford Festival at 1-800-567-1600, or check www.stratfordfestival.ca

Photo: Tom McCamus as Estragon and Paul Gross as Vladimir, Waiting for Godot. Stratford Festival 2026. Photo by David Hou.

Waiting for Godot
By Samuel Beckett
Directed by Molly Atkinson
Performed by Tom McCamus, Paul Gross, Jonathan Goad, David W. Keeley, with Gordon Paul Miller and Asher Albert Waxman alternating in the role of Boy.
Festival Theatre, Stratford
May 30 to July 31, 2026
Reviewed by Mary Alderson