Repertory Theater is an amazing thing. One troupe of actors doing a rotation of plays. All that memorizing! I wonder if anyone ever forgets what play they are in and starts saying the wrong lines.

No, these are professionals.

And there are no more professional actors than Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart; along with Billy Crudup and Shuler Hensley, four great actors… two great plays.

No, not this….

 Nope, wrong again…

In November 2013 I was on one of my Theatre Weekends for an extraordinary double-bill. No Man’s Land by Harold Pinter and Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. The theater was filled with Star Trek and Lord of the Rings fans (probably some X-men fans too), some of whom very likely had their minds blown. There were a couple of guys near me, one of whom said “I don’t get it, it’s just a couple of guys talking to each other.” I hope they seriously weren’t expecting wizard / laser battles.

Now, I’ll see a Pinter play under any circumstances, but to see a troupe of great actors do it was just wonderful. No Man’s Land is a comedy of menace like Pinter does, revolving around odd relationships and alcohol. Lots of alcohol. The characters (and the audience) are never quite sure where they stand with each other. In this play, a three-man household is invaded (or was he kidnapped?) by a stranger (or is he?) All the actors get their moment to shine as they pair off  to confront each other.

Waiting for Godot is a classic existentialist play by Samuel Beckett. Everyone loves to put on a production of Godot but it is known to leave audiences vaguely confused. The play has whatever meaning you wish to impart upon it, but clearly it is a delight to perform. Actors love it, and the two leads had too much fun on stage. Crudup gave it his all as Lucky in his “Think” speech.

If ever you have the opportunity to see something like this, by all means, GO! Great actors in classic plays come along once in a while.

All you need to know about No Man’s Land by Harold Pinter

All you need to know about Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett