Endgame
The Old Vic. January 27, 2020
The next big draw at The Old Vic is this Beckett double bill of Endgame or Fin de Partie, and Rough for Theatre II.
Once again Matthew Warchus is nailing this season superbly. The cast is the sublime Alan Cumming and the ever-exploring and surprising Daniel Radcliffe. This is a fascinating pairing and they work really well together. They are also wonderfully accompanied by Karl Johnson and an unrecognisable Jane Horrocks.
We kick off with the much shorter Rough for Theatre II. As with all Beckett it’s an absurd proposition. Two suits appear in an office with a man stood on the windowsill ready to jump. They appear to be there to sift through the reasons for him to live or die.
The staging is full of shadow and dim lighting. And then I looked at the shadows and saw the eyes and realised that they are inside the potential jumpers mind. Deciding if he should live or die based on arbitrary stories he tells himself.
There’s some wonderful comedy with the lights. And Cumming and Radcliffe bounce off each other beautifully.
Endgame is the second half. It’s another dive into the absurd. Originally written in French and titled Fin de Partie (then translated by Beckett himself) this is about playing the last piece in the game.
It’s a skilled game of repartee and verbal jousting between Hamm, a blind invalid who can’t stand and who likes to moan and boss people around and control them, and his servant/career/ward Clove who can’t sit and also can’t bend his legs properly. And Hamm’s parents who live in bins with sand.
Beckett very clear stage directions require an incredibly physical performance from Radcliffe (who spends the whole performance work his legs half bent, never straight and yet must climb ladders and lean into bins) and one of endurance for Cumming (if he’s kneeling the whole time, the pins and needles must be insane).
It’s darkly funny word play and sad as they appear to be the last people on earth yet they still can’t be kind to each other. The room they’re seemingly stuck in starts to feel claustrophobic and restrictive and their banter becomes increasingly antagonistic.
All players are magnificent. I have wanted to see Cumming on stage for a while and he’s as superb and original as I’d hoped. Radcliffe is developing into a fine stage actor. I am loving his choices and exploration of these revered and challenging texts (Schaefer’s Equus, Stoppard’s Rozencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and now Beckett. Dude!) Karl Johnson is a joy, as he was as the Grave digger in the Cumberbatch Hamlet. Love him. And Jane Horrocks is superb as Nell, the mother nearing the end of her life.
5/5 I predict a hit. And I love that this will bring new audiences to the absurdity that is Beckett.
