The cast of Waiting for Godot. Standing: Alex Nicol, James Cook and Dennis Stanton. Sitting/lying: David Stocker (director), Jamie Forbes and Lachlan Thomson. Photo: Supplied.
Theatre lovers are in for a treat with a production of the groundbreaking play Waiting for Godot by Bega’s Theatre Onset.
Director David Stocker said the play was a classic of the past 200 years. “It opened the gateway for Monty Python and closed the door on simple plots like good guy/bad guy and love affair goes wrong.”
“There is no plot. They are waiting. How can one maintain a play and performance when almost nothing happens? It is a tour de force.”
The fabulous cast includes 88-year-old Alex Nicol who was ABC’s first rural radio presenter. “It is quite possible this is the last time you will get to see him on stage,” Mr Stocker said. “He is spellbinding.”
Then there is James Cook. “He could be put in a cardboard box and still upstage anyone.”
There is 78 years between Mr Nicol and Hamish Kettle, the youngest member of the cast. A stand-out performer in Spectrum Theatre Group’s recent performance of Oliver!, Mr Stocker said Hamish was “very promising”.
The 10-year-old shares his character of a young shepherd with Lachlan Thomson, who will make his acting debut.
“Lachlan has a passion to be on the stage,” Mr Stocker said. “Because he has to have an operation, Hamish will play The Boy for the first weekend and depending on Lachlan’s operation, he will play The Boy in the second weekend.”
As Lachlan uses a wheelchair and Hamish is so young, how the other actors respond to the young shepherd has been tailored depending on who is performing on the night.
Dennis Stanton, Jamie Forbes and Hamish Kettle in Theatre Onset’s production of Waiting for Godot. Photo: Supplied.
Waiting for Godot was written by Irishman Samuel Beckett. During World War II he was a member of the Resistance in France.
Mr Stocker believes the play was inspired by the playwright’s experiences during that time when he would receive instructions to be somewhere at a certain time but without any information about who he was meeting or why. It meant he had no information to divulge if captured by the enemy and interrogated.
Waiting for Godot puts two characters in that situation of a void without any context.
“You don’t know the other person’s situation. They might be late. You don’t know,” Mr Stocker said. “So, in the play two guys are waiting for Godot and they do things to fill in the time and a few little distractions happen.”
Some people rank the play as their favourite while others do not like it because nothing happens.
Casting fell into place easily last year and Mr Stocker sent them off to learn their lines.
What are they waiting for? Dennis Stanton, Alex Nicol and David Stocker. Photo: Supplied.
Working with actors almost 80 years apart in age was straightforward for Mr Stocker who has nearly 60 years’ experience as a director.
It is like belonging to a football club. The youngest members are learning and the eldest cannot do as much as before, but they are all part of the club, like family.
“People are there for the football game and that is everyone’s passion,” he said.
There were two hiccups in the final few weeks.
“When we learnt that Lachlan was going to have an operation we brought in Hamish and he only had two weeks to be ready, and someone else had to pull out so the assistant director stepped in, but has total control after two months,” Mr Stocker said.
So, the production took both a long time and a short time to come together.
Mr Stocker said people would likely enjoy how the foyer was themed for the play, the simplicity of the set, the intimate nature of the raked setting, and of course the performances.
“It is a chance for older generations to see a new interpretation and for younger people to see new possibilities in theatre,” Mr Stocker said.
Waiting for Godot will be performed at The Church Theatre, 125 Gipps Street, Bega, starting Friday 25 July at 7 pm and running until Sunday 3 August. Tickets are $30, $25 for concession holders and $18 for high school age or higher education students.
