Sir Ian McKellen Mistaken for Hobo in Melbourne

Vladimir asks Estragon, “May one inquire where His Highness spent the night?” Estragon replies, dry as dust, “In a ditch.” A few hours later, Estragon concludes that, “No, nothing is certain,” the scene concludes, the four actors bow, and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot changes the face of theatre forever.

Performed and adored by burgeoning acting students and seasoned theatre veterans, Waiting for Godot is a two-act tragicomedy first performed in January of 1953 at the Théâtre de Babylone in Paris, and is still in regular rotation in venues around the world, most recently at the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne, Australia.

The show, directed by Sean Mathias, stars Roger Rees as Vladimir, Matthew Kelly as Pozzo, and the great Sir Ian McKellen as Estragon. Vladimir and Estragon have become archetypes of the so-called ‘theater of the absurd’ and spend most of their time during the two-act play waiting for a mysterious character named ‘Godot,’ who never arrives. The meaning of the play, while ripe for interpretation, is enjoyed by both audiences and critics for its existential relevance, and it takes a well-trained actor to truly communicate the satiric elegance Beckett propounds in his still-timely play.

Estragon and Vladimir, routinely cast as sloppy, lackadaisical hobos, have lived full, aimless lives, and their world-weariness and ramshackle clothing are all they have with them as they endlessly wait for Godot.

During rehearsals for the play in Melbourne, while McKellen and Rees were resting outside the theater in costume on a break from rehearsal, it was a classic (or perhaps successful) case of mistake identity.

McKellen said, “During the dress rehearsal of Godot, I crouched by the stage door of the Comedy Theatre, getting some air, my bowler hat at my feet (and) seeing an unkempt old man down on his luck, a passer-by said, ‘Need some help, brother?’ and put a dollar in my hat.”

It is unclear if the kindly passer-by stuck around much longer to realize to whom she had just bestowed her dollar, but the actor took the gesture in stride and remarked, “I hope the Melbourne audiences will be as generous.”

Mathias’s production of Waiting for Godot will be playing until May 23rd at the Comedy Theater, and then continue on in New Zealand until July 14th. And in the case you can attend any of these memorable performances, be sure to bring an extra dollar incase you see an actor down on his luck. If he’s not on the sidewalk, check the ditches.

[Image: telegraph.co.uk]