MALLIKA ARYAL

Departing from its usual larger-than-life theatrical productions, this year Studio 7 is daring to perform Samuel Beckett's most famous absurdist work Waiting for Godot, directed by Sabine Lehmann.

The play opens with two characters, Vladimir and Estragon who, as the title suggests, are waiting for a person called Godot. The men clown around, joking and arguing, as they wait through one day and then another, for the mysterious Godot.

They are later joined by Pozzo and his servant Lucky who introduce the tension of social inequality to the play.

Surprising, delighting and confounding its audiences since the 1950s Waiting for Godot, like all works in the theatre of the absurd genre, lacks a conventional plot yet provocatively explores the complexity of the human condition. In fact you could argue that nothing at all happens in the first half of the play- and the second is a repetition of the first. But that very absence of a plot-and of the mysterious Godot- will prompt discussion and personal interpretations from the audience.

Unlike the other productions put forward by Studio 7, Waiting for Godot has an all Nepali cast, bringing actors together from various backgrounds. The established cast at Studio 7 have decided to opt out this time, giving younger players a chance to enchant and provoke the audience.

Waiting for Godot plays at the Naga Theatre in Hotel Vajra every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8 May-24 May. All performances start at 7.15 PM. 4271545