We are eagerly anticipating the Classical Theatre of Harlem’s (CTH) upcoming tour of Waiting for Godot, a much-celebrated production that sets the Samuel Beckett masterpiece in Katrina-ravaged New Orleans. Originally, as produced by CTH in 2006 under the direction of Christopher McElroen and designed by Troy Hourie, the set was comprised of a house flooded up to its eaves leaving only the sodden roof and the top of a tree to be seen on a stage filled with water. Subsequently, the production was transferred to New Orleans in 2007 to be performed in situ, on a patch of ground in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, a place that had been virtually scrubbed bare by Katrina's wrath. Technically speaking, this latter setting is nearly a verbatim match of the staging directions offered by Beckett in the script:
A country road. A tree.
Evening.
That’s it. That’s all he wrote. Yet, in either case, the Katrina-informed setting adds a haunting resonance to the script. Who are Vladimir and Estragon waiting for? Is it Godot? Or is it the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)?
Estragon: You’re sure it was this evening?
Vladimir: What?
Estragon: That we were to wait.
Vladimir: He said Saturday. (Pause.) I think.
Estragon: You think.
Vladimir: I must have made a note of it (He fumbles in his pockets, bursting with miscellaneous rubbish.)
Estragon: (very insidious.) But what Saturday? And is it Saturday? Is it not rather Sunday? (Pause.) Or Monday? (Pause.) Or Friday?
In any case, and as often happens in the world of theatre, it has become necessary to revise the production design for the tour. But in this instance, however, it’s not going to lead to an artistic compromise given that CTH’s production thrived in both “waterlogged” and “water receded” settings. Either way, Katrina's insult and injury remain. While I share with many of you the thrill of navigating the technical considerations involved in filling a stage with water, I’m also keeping my eye on the principal objective: a compelling Godot that is perhaps as relevant as ever. Production designer Troy Hourie took the Lower 9th Ward concept, and transformed it into a ‘what the waters left behind’ stage set that makes palpably real the reason for Didi and Gogo’s persistent desperation and impatient wait. Flotsam and jetsam litter Beckett’s country road, and the lone tree is constructed of this same debris, evidence of the human desire to go on, to make something good with what one has available, to survive, even in the face of desperation. Even though they are daunted, this is Didi and Gogo’s unspoken hope. And it is ours.
Above is Troy Hourie’s exciting model for the stage set that we’ll have here at Purdue. Also, here are links to the preview and review from CTH’s November 2007 staging of Godot in Lower 9th Ward from the Times-Picayune (New Orleans):
Preview:
http://blog.nola.com/davidcuthbert/2007/11/for_new_orleanians_waiting_for.html
Review:
file:///S:/administration/Graphic%20design/0910/Shows/Theatre%20of%20Harlem/GodotArticle.pdf design\0910\Shows\Theatre of Harlem\GodotArticle.pdf
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