Friday, March 13, 2009

Beckett's Endgame at the A.R.T.

I saw Beckett's Endgame at the American Repertory Theater last night and liked the performance very much. Today they informed me they just added three shows, so you should go see it if you are in the area and enjoy that genre of absurd drama/are curious to see what Endgame looks like as a real play.

For those of you who don't know, Endgame is an absurd play (somewhat similar to Sartre's No Exit) about four people who are waiting in a room to die. There is Hamm, the blind protagonist who cannot stand, Clov, Hamm's friend/"son"/servant who cannot sit, and Nagg and Nell, Hamm's parents who exist in separate ash cans and have no legs. The play provides interesting food for thought on interactions between people, what it means to live, and what it means to wait for death. I was surprised that the A.R.T. managed to put humor into it; I had always thought of it as a fairly depressing and absurd tragedy. The show I saw was enjoyable and moving--an impressive feat with such tricky material.

If you don't believe me that the play is good, you should know that Endgame has been getting good reviews: everything from "exquisite" and "stunning" to "fulfilling," "exciting" and "gaspingly funny."

You can read other reviews here and get tickets here.

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