Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: If playwright Samuel Beckett hadn't barred women from performing "Waiting for Godot," Rita Reis and Gab Cody might not have written "Fat Beckett."
Beckett insisted producers and artists perform his plays exactly as he had written them, a requirement that those who manage his estate continue to enforce.
2 comments:
This blog is truly curious. I didn't realize that Beckett was so against women performing in "Waiting for Godot", or that it mattered. Now, with the newer show, "Fat Beckett", the unexpected reasons and story make sense and seems to be a good change. Men and women can be similar but at the same time, extremely different in nature, beyond the obvious differences. The newer show does portray women in, what I feel to be, a more accurate depiction. A normal woman wouldn't be sitting and waiting for things to happen. Trusting in others and simply waiting for an outcome doesn't ever really fit our character. What is even more ironic is the fact that this new show was created just for women. These actresses didn't sit back and relax, waiting for a new Beckett to write them a play. They wanted to act and they made the play fit to their own style. I really have to admire work that is sprouted from indignation and determination.
I admit it, there was a time in my life where I was somewhat of a Beckett-idolater. (I still am kind of) I saw, read, expressed interest in anything that had Beckett's name on it and defending Beckett's artistic merit when those things violated his artistic intentions. If you change Beckett you're doing a different play. For example, some companies have cast a woman in the role of Lucky in Godot. This introduces HUGE connotations into the play regarding gender roles and male dominated society. Beckett didn't write that play. He wrote a play abouot Didi, Gogo, Lucky, and Potso, who he specified as male characters.
The issue behind what to do with Beckett is how you define design and vision and how do you define an adaption. Some companies by making changes in casting think they are helping to manifest their vision while at the same being faithful to Beckett's work. You have to careful what design elements are saying about the piece. I read about an all Africa-american cast of Godot that was set on the rooftops of Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans. What a great concept! But that's not Waiting for Godot, it's Waiting for America to Get Their Shit Together. I would call this version an adaption.
It looks like Quantum has realized this distinction and has created an adpation of Beckett's play that is true to the original intent of the playwright (explore the modern existential crisis) but also very much aware that they are doing something different and new. Beckett didn't write a play about women and insists that his plays can't be about women. We can't change that, fine. But let's explore it anyway.
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