Beckett

David Bradby explores the impact of Waiting for Godot on theatre history, including productions across the globe. Bradby also examines interpretations by major actors and directors including that by Beckett himself. It also contains an extensive production chronology, bibliography and illustrations from major productions.

Waiting for Godot is a byword in every major world language. No other twentieth-century play has achieved such global currency. His innovations have affected not only the writing of plays, but all aspects of their staging. In this book David Bradby explores the impact of the play and its influence on acting, directing, design, and the role of theatre in society. Bradby begins with an analysis of the play and its historical context. After discussing the first productions in France, Britain and America, he examines subsequent productions in Africa, Eastern Europe, Israel, America, China and Japan. The book assesses interpretations by actors such as Bert Lahr, David Warrilow, Georges Wilson, Barry McGovern and Ben Kingsley, and directors Roger Blin, Susan Sontag, Sir Peter Hall, Luc Bondy, Yukio Ninagawa and Beckett himself. It also contains an extensive production chronology, bibliography and illustrations from major productions.