Teacher Reflections on the Staging of Waiting for Godot

by Matthew Sheahan

There is power in holding and sharing space.  Choices are made with how and when to share space.  Sometimes the timing is perfect for what we will do in that space together. This holds true when we think of what play to produce with students.

In June of 2022, twelve secondary students from Prince Edward Collegiate Institute and I staged a reimagining of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.  We decided to set the play in the present. Vladmir and Estragon became teenagers, Pozzo represented big business, Lucky was a medical patient, and the Boy was a medical professional. 

There were many reasons why we chose this particular production at this specific time.  

When pandemic restrictions were lifted in late March, and cohorts of students were once again able to mingle, the students asked for a project that we could produce.  I proposed Waiting for Godot.  We would perform it outside, in the round, with a tripling and doubling of all characters, save the Boy (the Boy was played by one actor).  My reasoning for Waiting for Godot was that, coming out of the pandemic, we could all relate to the concept of waiting (waiting for things to change, waiting for things to get better, waiting to be able to gather), and that life under restrictions sometimes felt pointless, like nothing was really happening.  We were all just waiting. The students agreed.

The purpose for tripling Vladmir and Estragon was to demonstrate that while we were individually alone, we were collectively in isolation and stuck in proverbial hamster wheels. Time kept moving, but we weren’t going anywhere.  No matter how much Vladmir and Estragon try, they can’t break the cycle (a familiar feeling for all of us).  Casting the Boy as a medical professional was to highlight the fact that the public was constantly promised by the healthcare system that things would get better (Godot would come/the pandemic would be over), but always later, not right now.  

What the students realized, and what the audience felt, is that the past influences the present and gives us a glimpse into a possible future.  But, more importantly, the cast and audience felt a need and desire to share space.  They wanted to go on this journey together.      

This submission consists of a recorded reflection from one cast member, Christine Thornton, a grade 11 student at the time of production, and pictures of rehearsals and performance.  

Christine values the need to hold space, and her reflections on the production give educators and artists a glimpse into how students can see how classic stage productions can be made relevant to the here and now.