One of the key aspects of this work revolves around the fact that these individuals are stuck in their bunker, indefinitely. They are stuck with one another, stuck in the same routine because there is nowhere else to go, nothing else to do but “finish living” whatever span of time is left before them. And I commented at the end of the performance on just how well I believed the actors were able to depict this sense of an inescapable and claustrophobic existence. While I was reading the play myself, I did not fully grasp just how confined their situation was, as I focused more on the interactions between characters than the setting that they were in. But as I was watching the play onstage, I had a completely different experience. I felt the walls closing in as time went on, I could both physically and mentally feel the frustration and the exhaustion and the loss of hope that Hamm and Clov especially felt over the course of their days together. Like Borys pointed out, it was clear how they could not handle being locked up together much longer. I don’t think I could’ve managed watching them struggle much longer, either!
- Emily
Seeing the play live had given me a whole new perspective on the written play. There are things that just can’t properly be explained through text that can be portrayed more easily in real life. An example of this would be the desperation and sense of built-up frustration that all of the actors portrayed during the play. The text didn’t put as strong of an emphasis on the way the characters are all fed up and tired of their living conditions, as the actors have done on stage. We could see it through the actor’s body language, their tone of voice, and their choice of lexicon; accentuating the fact that they can’t handle being locked up with each other for much longer as Emily mentioned. Their incarceration in this shelter over the past few years has led to all the characters having a “inescapable and claustrophobic existence,” which over time takes a major toll on their psyche. This was particularly visible in Clov and Hamm, who as the play progressed became increasingly irritated with each other; to the point where Hamm suggested the maybe Clov should leave the shelter and go out into the unknown.
- Borys
Since I was not able to see the actual depiction of the play, I think watching it would have added a much more realistic and depressing element to my interpretation. As I was reading the play, I definitely felt the sense of “inescapable and claustrophobic existence” that Emily alluded to. However, seeing and hearing the characters’ desperation must have undeniably added to the already dreary and hopeless plot. Since I was only able to imagine the setting, I focused more on the characters’ interactions and their feelings towards each other, rather than their internal thoughts and feelings regarding their situation.