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Not much of a night out though, is it? But that does seem to provide a clue as to why the play is so lionised. Contrary to Simon Callow’s belief in the play’s ability to “frustrate intellectual criticism with its apparent elusiveness”, it is in fact one play where everybody knows exactly what it’s about. That’s why people of a certain sort keep going back to it, and why critics love it. They’re hoping against hope that some naif will mutter “Waiting for Godot? I don’t get it. It’s boring. Godot never comes.” “Ah, but don’t you see,” they’ll cry, “that’s the whole point…” And they’re off. They get it, even if smaller minds don’t. They’re the same people who laugh loudly at the jokes in Shakespeare: the backbone of so many theatre audiences, and the reason why going to the theatre is so often such a dispiriting experience.
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