Write about two OMG moments in the performance of Waiting for Godot.
For each of these moments
a) Introduce the moment and its impact upon you.
b) Describe what happened - I should be able to see and hear what you saw and heard.
c) Explain why this moment made an impact.
d) Explain how the director, designer and actors achieved this moment.
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One OMG moment in Waiting for Godot was probably the part where Lucky and Potso enter. In this scene Gogo and Didi meet Potso and Potso's slave Lucky. Gogo and Didi are fascinated with Lucky and witness Potso treating Lucky badly. When ordering Lucky to do something, after he has completed his task, Potso makes him go back to his place (far behind him). This carries on repeating but with different tasks (eg. Giving Potso his food, a chair etc). This made an impact to me because I felt sorry for Lucky but at the same time I wanted to laugh and felt guilty for laughing. I think the repetition of Potso ordering Lucky around even for the smallest things was quite absurd which brought in the laughter. However the way the actor of Lucky showed how much pain and suffering he was going through really got to me and I began to feel his pain. The actor of Potso brought in the steriotype of a typical, olden day, English gentlemen which also contributed to the laughter.
Another OMG moment was when Gogo and Didi wanted to hang themselves on the tree. In this scene they are discusing by the tree how they can hang themselves. They talk about needing a rope but in the end give up. This moment made an impact on me because of the fact that it made me think about how they are "waiting for Godot" and how this could relate to waiting for God. It made me realise how this 'thing' they are waiting for could be God and that there trust in him has faded as they are willing to hang themselves. I think that using the tree which was shaped as a cross was very significant in this scene as to me it symbolised the crucifix.
Catriona
One moment in Waiting for Godot that I feel deserves to be one of my OMG moments, was the scene in the performance where Lucky is asked by Potso to 'think'.
At first, Lucky just stood there,then, from the hunchback position he was in, he gradually stood up straight. He then started speaking his 'thoughts' very quickly while gradually building his voice up, speaking louder and almost 'spitting' his words out. Lucky 'thought' for about 2 minutes straight, thinking random things and finishes by speaking the names of sports, 'tennis,swimming,golf,tennis,swimming,golf' until Gogo ran up to him and pulled his hat off. The reason this made such a big impact on me was the fact that the actor playing Lucky stood in the same position for two minutes and recited 2-3 minutes worth of random, yet complicated words. The audience clapped after this, and then the play carried on. This was by far one of the best parts of the play.
Another OMG moment in Waiting for Godot, were the parts where Gogo would hug Didi. Although this was not a major part of the play, it was one of the humourous parts, because, oviously, in the original, Gogo and Didi would have been the same height, however, in this version, the director purposefully chose two actors who were completely different heights. This added to the humour that went on between the two characters, and because of the height difference, everytime Gogo and Didi hugged, Didi would be at least 2-3 feet off the ground and would stick him bottom out. Gogo and Didi definetly made me laugh and in my view, the director defienetly acheived the laughter he wanted from the audience, as the audience always laughed when they hugged! :P
Olivia
well hello just got this blog woking.
ok back to the topic.
One "OMG" moment in Waiting For Godot was the scene where patso orders lucky to think, and all of a sudden lucky explodes with this incredible speach, which awakened the whole play (i must say), as soon as this happened i think it got me listening to the play even more because it was so exciting. what was realy funny about this, well not realy funny but funny, was when he wouldnt shut up because these words just kept flowing out of him because of this hat, so the only way to stop him from pouring these words out was to take the hat off his head. as soon as the hat came off lucky suddenly becomes powerless and week again which was so interesting, just because it shows that words can make you seem so powerful if you know how to use them and then the power is taken away from him.
My second "OMG" moment in the show was in the second part when they come back the next day and didi is the only one who remebers everything, and this time patso and lucky come on to stage totaly diffrent from the day before. this time patso is blind and lucky is dumb. this actualy got me confused at first. i thought it was dajavu then i thought about it, and i still didnt get it aha. need some explaining.
zak
One OMG Moment in "Waiting for Godot" would most definately be Lucky's huge speech of him thinking when he was told by potso to "think", which just shocked me and forced me to clap as loud as i possibly could when he was done. It got me listening more and made me think to myself, and as i would listen i would hear him repeat himself doubting himself and saying "and although this thing which were meant not to be and thought not be was..." It just astounded me.
But then, all of a sudden with a simplex thing such as taking of his hat, he stops. It was amazing how Lucky could only think with the hat, it made me realise that it represented his freedom. Also, how the characters in the background where teasing lucky and dying of boredom with his speech from his cruel and phisolophical thoughts, but it still made me laugh when the characters just hit the floor of boredom. It suprised me massively.
My 2nd OMG Moment was how each and everytime the young boy would come at the very end, with only a few words to say but be able answer some questions of yours, but also make you think of more.
Furthermore, the way he described Godot and himself, and how he stopped replying at a certain question which he couldn't answer with his "Yes, Sir/No, Sir/I Don't Know, Sir" and Didi would be forced to ask another question. and only now that i think about, how only Didi would talk to him, But Gogo would always be asleep when he arrived. This always resulted in quiet though, and lastly, they decided to end with this scene.
I feel that the biggest OMG moment for me was when the little boy came on, telling Didi and Gogo that Mr. Godot would not be coming today but definitely tomorrow. This became a reoccurring role that usually followed the same basic outline, which I have explained above. This made an impact on me as, because this whole play is a metaphor for the meaning life, it showed spectators that unless you make something happen yourself, your life will always be based around other things, waiting for that one special moment. The repetition of sequences, as created by the director, emphasised this and really brought the fact home that you have to make something of yourself, and that no one else can. Didi's character became frustrated, this symbolises everyday feelings in everyday life. Finally, the little boy represented the hope and the need for something to come by and give life meaning.
My second top OMG moment was when Didi and Gogo meet Potso and Lucky. It was a paticular eye-opener for me to see how Potso ordered Lucky around like a slave. He made him do a vast majority of things, that he could have done easily himself, and all right from the beginning each time. This had a significant impact on me because, as we discussed in the laughing at someone cruelly being taken advantage of is disturbing with hindsight, but also, because it further weighted to me how easily people are led and the skewed perspectives others have when it comes to superiority. Like the thought that poor Lucky enjoyed his life as a servant to Potso as it helped him make a living for himself. I disagree with this notion completely. Props like the rope around Lucky's neck emphasised the situation. The actor that played Lucky superbly portrayed his pain and suffering. Potso's character played the stereotypical Englishman well, adding to the laughs. The director created the overall image of the scene by placing Potso in a portable chair in a corner upstage and Lucky in the centre, tiredly standing, downstage.
Isla
one OMG moment that i had experienced in waiting for Godot was when potzo asks lucky to THINK!
lucky almost relaxes into an upright position and begins to recite a speach for 2 minutes. to get lucky to stop, gogo has to remove his hat. this creates a symbol of a thinking hat which is really funny. it is one of my OMG moments because of the amount of time it must have taken him to learn a monologue which was that long.
another OMG moment was when Didi and Gogo swap hats constantly for about a minute. i think the directed intended to make the audience laugh and the characters in a way became clowns. the way they stared straight into the audience while carrying out something so intricate was amazing. the timeing was also good as i felt the audience needed to laugh at that point in the play.
i think it made an impact on me because at that point i was a bit bored and it really made me sit up and become interested in what was going on, on stage.
Emi x
Hmm
I loved waiting for Godot, because it had depth. It had hidden meanings. Though the story was funny it was also extremely disturbing. I couldn't help feeling like I was a three year old in high heels whilst watching the play, and it was because of that feeling that I loved the play. I never usually feel that way, never ever.
I have a very hard time choosing my OMG moments because it was so chocka block of details. Even saying that I have to admit that i enjoyed the part with the hats. Didi and Gogo had the three hats and kept exchanging them. It was very funny but I also believe that it was a metaphor for life, how it constantly changes.
My other favourite part of waiting for Godot was when Podo and Lucky came back dumb and blind. I think because Podo was an englishman and Lucky seemed Irish it made the historical bridge between them real and yet completely fabricated at the same time.
Rosie
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