and
Iron Age Theatre
Present
Directed and Designed by
John Doyle
Randall Wise
with
November 2-4, 9-11, 16-18, 23-25 2007
at the
At The Centre Theater
208 Dekalb Street
610-279-1013
Dave Fiebert as Vladimir
Adam Altman as Estragon
Chuck Beishl as Pozzo
David Yashin as Lucky
Lighting Technician: Lauren Joseph
Secen Painting by Kate McLenigan
Sound Technician Stephanie Doyle
Friday and saturday at 8PM -- -- Sunday at 2PM
Read more about our production
Read the Bios of our Cast
REVIEWS
The boisterous, energized reading director John Doyle has created for "Godot" in the Iron Age production captures the exuberance of a Merry Melodies animation.For now, we have to settle for Doyle driving Adam Altman and David Fiebert as (respectively) Estragon and Vladimir, like a used car.
He makes them run up and down hills, scream like banshees, and bounce like rubber balls. Showing little or no concern for their well-being, he twists and bruises their bodies without mercy.
Poor Mr. Altman has been shot, bludgeoned, beat up and bloodied so often in recent Iron Age productions it's a wonder he doesn't run in terror when Mr. Doyle or his production partner Randall Wise calls a rehearsal.
The disquieting part of this story is that his performances give the impression he enjoys, even relishes, the abuse.
Chuck Beishl's Pozzo is dynamic. David Yashin delivers a remarkably physical performance and a compelling monologue as Lucky.
The production design in both set and costuming is arresting in how well the complex simplicity of the design mirrors the script. The credit here belongs to Mr. Wise. Perhaps someone will take note and remember when award nominations are announced. The design is that good.
This production, however, belongs to Mr. Doyle. He is generally a quiet man, preferring the background to the public forum. In this production, he shows his audience he is a man for whom waiting is a part of his life he finds frustrating. It makes him angry enough to scream - again and again and again.
Jim McCaffrey
The Evening Bulletin
Any production of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot is an ambitious undertaking. The same could be said for reviewing any such performance. There is so much packed into such a sparse script, and the non-traditional nature of the play stretches the capabilities of actors, directors and reviewers alike. Lucky for me, then, that the Norristown’s Centre Theater’s presentation of the Iron Age production of Waiting For Godot has made my job easy.
For some reason, perhaps because once the non-traditional barrier is broken there is a tendency to go overboard, directors often put up productions that look to twist this play into something even more absurd. Fortunately, director/designer John Doyle did not fall into this trap. It is not Beckett in space, Godot in a mall or done only in mime. Thankfully it does not attempt to make the avant garde more avant garde and instead is a true and faithful presentation of Beckett’s script.
Mr. Fiebert and Mr. Altman both do well in not embellishing the written characters and performing the complex simplicity of their characters and the relationship between them. In fact, the overall physicality of the show, especially that of a vaudevillian type such as pratfalls and the hat exchange, was very well done by all the actors.
If you want something a little different, if you want a taste of the avant garde, if you want to experience one of the most influential plays of the 20th Century, then I highly suggest a trip to Norristown to the Centre Theater. And if you leave afterward wanting to know more, you can always peruse the dramaturgical guide included with your program which is chock full of essays, interpretations and information about Samuel Beckett and Waiting For Godot.
Karin Suni
StageMagazineOnline.com
You
must ALSO see WAITING FOR GODOT. Iron Age Theatre at the Centre Theatre must be
lauded for making an even MORE challenging text so easily accessible and FUNNY!
I have seen ten different productions of WAITING FOR GODOT in my life...and
this one is the closest to right-on that I've ever seen. John Doyle knows his
Beckett and his actors are terrific (and also fabulous). I'd list them all
but I left the program in the car. BUT believe me, they too all deserve kudos.
It makes you laugh. It makes you ache. So good!
Aileen McCulloch
The Vagabond Acting Troupe
Dramaturgical Links of Interest for the Play.
Links about Godot
A Beckett Page
Essays and Ideas
Beckett and the Absurd
Beckett as a famous Irishman
Some Basic Anaysis of the play.
A Study Guide
An Interesting German page