Waiting for Godot at Liverpool Everyman Review
Written by Roby for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review. All views are my own
Waiting For Godot is famously “the play where nothing happens”… boy is this an understatement. Samuel Beckett’s play is slow, long-winded, and lacks any real movement; whilst it can be interpreted in different ways, it still lacks substance. Nevertheless, this production at the Liverpool Everyman has some strong acting performances, nice design elements, and occasionally made me laugh.
This play was, however, well received by its audience, who gave it a standing ovation. Beckett’s humour (enhanced by Dominic Hill’s direction) was also well-received, with many audience members laughing throughout. Personally, I just didn’t find the humour that funny.
The acting throughout the show was brilliant - Matthew Kelly and George Costigan led the show well and had great chemistry with each other. Gbolahan Obisesan gave a charming and captivating performance in the role of Pozzo, who was accompanied well by Michael Hodgson as Lucky - an extremely demanding role in terms of physicality which Hodgson performs brilliantly. It’s a shame the show wasn’t for me as all of the actors within it were brilliant.
The design elements were also a standout of the show - Jean Chan’s set design complemented the show well, and Lizzie Powell’s lighting design brought some lovely moments of contrast, particularly at the start and end of each act.
Overall, Waiting For Godot missed the mark for me. It was slow, but featured great actors. If the title was changed to ‘Waiting For Someone Who Never Comes’, I would know everything I needed to. But hey, as they say in the show, “at least it passed the time”.
Plays until 4 April 2026
★ ★ ★
