Waiting for Godot Read online

  VLADIMIR: Never heard of it.

  POZZO: What is it like?

  VLADIMIR: (looking round). It’s indescribable. It’s like nothing. There’s nothing. There’s a tree.

  POZZO: Then it’s not the Board.

  ESTRAGON: (sagging). Some diversion!

  POZZO: Where is my menial?

  VLADIMIR: He’s about somewhere.

  POZZO: Why doesn’t he answer when I call?

  VLADIMIR: I don’t know. He seems to be sleeping. Perhaps he’s dead.

  POZZO: What happened exactly?

  ESTRAGON: Exactly!

  VLADIMIR: The two of you slipped. (Pause.) And fell.

  POZZO: Go and see is he hurt.

  VLADIMIR: We can’t leave you.

  POZZO: You needn’t both go.

  VLADIMIR: (to Estragon). You go.

  ESTRAGON: After what he did to me? Never!

  POZZO: Yes yes, let your friend go, he stinks so. (Silence.)

  What is he waiting for?

  VLADIMIR: What you waiting for?

  ESTRAGON: I’m waiting for Godot.

  Silence.

  VLADIMIR: What exactly should he do?

  POZZO: Well to begin with he should pull on the rope, as hard as he likes so long as he doesn’t strangle him. He usually responds to that. If not he should give him a taste of his boot, in the face and the privates as far as possible.

  VLADIMIR: (to Estragon). You see, you’ve nothing to be afraid of. It’s even an opportunity to revenge yourself.

  ESTRAGON: And if he defends himself?

  POZZO: No no, he never defends himself.

  VLADIMIR: I’ll come flying to the rescue.

  ESTRAGON: Don’t take your eyes off me.

  He goes towards Lucky.

  VLADIMIR: Make sure he’s alive before you start. No point in exerting yourself if he’s dead.

  ESTRAGON: (bending over Lucky). He’s breathing.

  VLADIMIR: Then let him have it.

  With sudden fury Estragon starts kicking Lucky, hurling abuse at him as he does so. But he hurts his foot and moves away, limping and groaning. Lucky stirs.

  ESTRAGON: Oh the brute!

  He sits down on the mound and tries to take off his boot. But he soon desists and disposes himself for sleep, his arms on his knees and his head on his arms.

  POZZO: What’s gone wrong now?

  VLADIMIR: My friend has hurt himself.

  POZZO: And Lucky?

  VLADIMIR: So it is he?

  POZZO: What?

  VLADIMIR: It is Lucky?

  POZZO: I don’t understand.

  VLADIMIR: And you are Pozzo?

  POZZO: Certainly I am Pozzo.

  VLADIMIR: The same as yesterday?

  POZZO: Yesterday?

  VLADIMIR: We met yesterday. (Silence.) Do you not remember?

  POZZO: I don’t remember having met anyone yesterday.

  But to-morrow I won’t remember having met anyone to-day. So don’t count on me to enlighten you.

  VLADIMIR: But—

  POZZO: Enough! Up pig!

  VLADIMIR: You were bringing him to the fair to sell him. You spoke to us. He danced. He thought. You had your sight.

  POZZO: As you please. Let me go! (Vladimir moves away.)

  Up!

  Lucky gets up, gathers up his burdens.

  VLADIMIR: Where do you go from here.

  POZZO: On. (Lucky, laden down, takes his place before

  Pozzo.) Whip! (Lucky puts everything down, looks for whip, finds it, puts it into Pozzo’s hand, takes up everything again.) Rope! (Lucky puts everything down, puts end of rope into Pozzo’s hand, takes up everything again.)

  VLADIMIR: What is there in the bag?

  POZZO: Sand. (He jerks the rope.) On!

  VLADIMIR: Don’t go yet.

  POZZO: I’m going.

  VLADIMIR: What do you do when you fall far from help?

  POZZO: We wait till we can get up. Then we go on. On!

  VLADIMIR: Before you go tell him to sing.

  POZZO: Who?

  VLADIMIR: Lucky.

  POZZO: To sing?

  VLADIMIR: Yes. Or to think. Or to recite.

  POZZO: But he is dumb.

  VLADIMIR: Dumb!

  POZZO: Dumb. He can’t even groan.

  VLADIMIR: Dumb! Since when?

  POZZO: (suddenly furious). Have you not done tormenting me with your accursed time! It’s abominable! When! When! One day, is that not enough for you, one day he went dumb, one day I went blind, one day we’ll go deaf, one day we were born, one day we shall die, the same day, the same second, is that not enough for you? (Calmer.) They give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it’s night once more. (He jerks the rope.) On!

  Exeunt Pozzo and Lucky. Vladimir follows them to the edge of the stage, looks after them. The noise of falling, reinforced by mimic of Vladimir, announces that they are down again. Silence. Vladimir goes towards Estragon, contemplates him a moment, then shakes him awake.

  ESTRAGON: (wild gestures, incoherent words. Finally.) Why will you never let me sleep?

  VLADIMIR: I felt lonely.

  ESTRAGON: I was dreaming I was happy.

  VLADIMIR: That passed the time.

  ESTRAGON: I was dreaming that—

  VLADIMIR: (violently). Don’t tell me! (Silence.) I wonder is he really blind.

  ESTRAGON: Blind? Who?

  VLADIMIR: Pozzo.

  ESTRAGON: Blind?

  VLADIMIR: He told us he was blind.

  ESTRAGON: Well what about it?

  VLADIMIR: It seemed to me he saw us.

  ESTRAGON: You dreamt it. (Pause.) Let’s go. We can’t. Ah!

  (Pause.) Are you sure it wasn’t him?

  VLADIMIR: Who?

  ESTRAGON: Godot.

  VLADIMIR: But who?

  ESTRAGON: Pozzo.

  VLADIMIR: Not at all! (Less sure.) Not at all! (Still less sure.)

  Not at all!

  ESTRAGON: I suppose I might as well get up. (He gets up painfully.) Ow! Didi!

  VLADIMIR: I don’t know what to think any more.

  ESTRAGON: My feet! (He sits down again and tries to take off his boots.) Help me!

  VLADIMIR: Was I sleeping, while the others suffered? Am I sleeping now? To-morrow, when I wake, or think I do, what shall I say of to-day? That with Estragon my friend, at this place, until the fall of night, I waited for Godot? That Pozzo passed, with his carrier, and that he spoke to us?

  Probably. But in all that what truth will there be? (Estragon, having struggled with his boots in vain, is dozing off again. Vladimir looks at him.) He’ll know nothing. He’ll tell me about the blows he received and I’ll give him a carrot. (Pause.) Astride of a grave and a difficult birth. Down in the hole, lingeringly, the grave-digger puts on the forceps. We have time to grow old. The air is full of our cries. (He listens.) But habit is a great deadener. (He looks again at Estragon.) At me too someone is looking, of me too someone is saying, He is sleeping, he knows nothing, let him sleep on. (Pause.) I can’t go on! (Pause.) What have I said?

  He goes feverishly to and fro, halts finally at extreme left, broods. Enter Boy right. He halts. Silence.

  BOY: Mister . . . (Vladimir turns.)Mister Albert . . .

  VLADIMIR: Off we go again. (Pause.) Do you not recognize me?

  BOY: No Sir.

  VLADIMIR: It wasn’t you came yesterday.

  BOY: No Sir.

  VLADIMIR: This is your first time.

  BOY: Yes Sir.

  Silence.

  VLADIMIR: You have a message from Mr. Godot.

  BOY: Yes Sir.

  VLADIMIR: He won’t come this evening.

  BOY: No Sir.

  VLADIMIR: But he’ll come to-morrow.

  BOY: Yes Sir.

  VLADIMIR: Without fail.

  BOY: Yes Sir.

  Silence.

  VLADIMIR: Did you meet anyone?

  BOY: No Sir.

  VLADIMIR: Two other . . . (h
e hesitates) . . . men?

  BOY: I didn’t see anyone, Sir.

  Silence.

  VLADIMIR: What does he do, Mr. Godot? (Silence.) Do you hear me?

  BOY: Yes Sir.

  VLADIMIR: Well?

  BOY: He does nothing, Sir.

  Silence.

  VLADIMIR: How is your brother?

  BOY: He’s sick, Sir.

  VLADIMIR: Perhaps it was he came yesterday.

  BOY: I don’t know, Sir.

  Silence.

  VLADIMIR: (softly). Has he a beard, Mr. Godot?

  BOY: Yes Sir.

  VLADIMIR: Fair or . . . (he hesitates) . . . or black?

  BOY: I think it’s white, Sir.

  Silence.

  VLADIMIR: Christ have mercy on us!

  Silence.

  BOY: What am I to tell Mr. Godot, Sir?

  VLADIMIR: Tell him . . . (he hesitates) . . . tell him you saw me and that . . . (he hesitates) . . . that you saw me. (Pause. Vladimir advances, the Boy recoils. Vladimir halts, the Boy halts. With sudden violence.) You’re sure you saw me, you won’t come and tell me to-morrow that you never saw me! Silence. Vladimir makes a sudden spring forward, the Boy avoids him and exit running. Silence. The sun sets, the moon rises. As in Act 1. Vladimir stands motionless and bowed. Estragon wakes, takes off his boots, gets up with one in each hand and goes and puts them down center front, then goes towards Vladimir.

  ESTRAGON: What’s wrong with you?

  VLADIMIR: Nothing.

  ESTRAGON: I’m going.

  VLADIMIR: So am I.

  ESTRAGON: Was I long asleep?

  VLADIMIR: I don’t know.

  Silence.

  ESTRAGON: Where shall we go?

  VLADIMIR: Not far.

  ESTRAGON: Oh yes, let’s go far away from here.

  VLADIMIR: We can’t.

  ESTRAGON: Why not?

  VLADIMIR: We have to come back to-morrow.

  ESTRAGON: What for?

  VLADIMIR: To wait for Godot.

  ESTRAGON: Ah! (Silence.) He didn’t come?

  VLADIMIR: No.

  ESTRAGON: And now it’s too late.

  VLADIMIR: Yes, now it’s night.

  ESTRAGON: And if we dropped him? (Pause.) If we dropped him?

  VLADIMIR: He’d punish us. (Silence. He looks at the tree.)

  Everything’s dead but the tree.

  ESTRAGON: (looking at the tree). What is it?

  VLADIMIR: It’s the tree.

  ESTRAGON: Yes, but what kind?

  VLADIMIR: I don’t know. A willow.

  Estragon draws Vladimir towards the tree. They stand motionless before it. Silence.

  ESTRAGON: Why don’t we hang ourselves?

  VLADIMIR: With what?

  ESTRAGON: You haven’t got a bit of rope?

  VLADIMIR: No.

  ESTRAGON: Then we can’t.

  Silence.

  VLADIMIR: Let’s go.

  ESTRAGON: Wait, there’s my belt.

  VLADIMIR: It’s too short.

  ESTRAGON: You could hang on to my legs.

  VLADIMIR: And who’d hang on to mine?

  ESTRAGON: True.

  VLADIMIR: Show all the same. (Estragon loosens the cord that holds up his trousers which, much too big for him, fall about his ankles. They look at the cord.)

  It might do at a pinch. But is it strong enough?

  ESTRAGON: We’ll soon see. Here.

  They each take an end of the cord and pull. It breaks. They almost fall.

  VLADIMIR: Not worth a curse.

  Silence.

  ESTRAGON: You say we have to come back to-morrow?

  VLADIMIR: Yes.

  ESTRAGON: Then we can bring a good bit of rope.

  VLADIMIR: Yes.

  Silence.

  ESTRAGON: Didi.

  VLADIMIR: Yes.

  ESTRAGON: I can’t go on like this.

  VLADIMIR: That’s what you think.

  ESTRAGON: If we parted? That might be better for us.

  VLADIMIR: We’ll hang ourselves to-morrow. (Pause.) Unless Godot comes.

  ESTRAGON: And if he comes?

  VLADIMIR: We’ll be saved.

  Vladimir takes off his hat (Lucky’s), peers inside it, feels about inside it, shakes it, knocks on the crown, puts it on again.

  ESTRAGON: Well? Shall we go?

  VLADIMIR: Pull on your trousers.

  ESTRAGON: What?

  VLADIMIR: Pull on your trousers.

  ESTRAGON: You want me to pull off my trousers?

  VLADIMIR: Pull ON your trousers.

  ESTRAGON: (realizing his trousers are down). True.

  He pulls up his trousers.

  VLADIMIR: Well? Shall we go?

  ESTRAGON: Yes, let’s go.

  They do not move.

  Curtain

  WAITING FOR GODOT was first presented (as En Attendant Godot) at the Théâtre de Babylone, 38 Boulevard Raspail, Paris, France, during the season of 1952–3. The play was directed by Roger Blin, with décor by Sergio Gerstein.

  The cast was as follows:

  ESTRAGON Pierre Latour

  VLADIMIR Lucien Raimbourg

  POZZO Roger Blin

  LUCKY Jean Martin

  A BOY Serge Lecointe

  1All four wear bowlers.