Or Maybe Just Don’t Wait for Godot?

When the playwright indicates stipulations that no longer fit the current sociopolitical state of mind, why not just get someone else to produce the play?

Beckett was a spicy dude.

When he wrote his now celebrated Waiting for Godot, he specifically took the time to dictate that his absurdist play could only be performed by five men. No women. Period. After his death, his estate (which retains rights until 2059) is solid on enforcing the man’s wishes. They are quite litigious with theaters who cleverly try to break his rule.

When Oisín Moyne decided to stage the play at the University of Groningen he only auditioned men because, well what’s the point in wasting the time of actors who, because of their gender, had zero chance of being cast? Turns out that at the old UofG, wasting women’s time auditioning for roles they aren’t contractually allowed to play is a requirement for production.

“If it concerned a play with five white guys that they’d held open auditions for, everything would have been fine. But you can’t ban people right from the start,” Usva theatre programmer Bram Douwes told the Ukrant newspaper.

A spokesperson for the University of Groningen said that times had moved on since the play was first staged in 1953.

“[Beckett] explicitly stated that this play should be performed by five men. Moving forward, times have changed. And that the idea that only men are suitable for this role is outdated and even discriminatory,” university press officer Elies Kouwenhoven said.

“We as a university stand for an open inclusive community where it is not appropriate to exclude others, on any basis.”

SOURCE

Say what you want about Beckett (I love him) it is a bit precious to contain production rules in a play performed for a royalty paid to do so. I love Godot but the play doesn’t change with the casting or he’d just make a movie and move on, yeah?

Back in the Chicago days, I was hired to direct Woody Allen’s God. After reading it, I felt it was dated but still funny but so centered in NYC that it felt distant. Comedy needs to be present to really connect so I changed all the New York references to Chicago locations. Making Wilmette jokes would resonate with Chicago audiences far better than Queens jokes.

Except that Woody Allen had specifically forbade this sort of editing. And I’m a contrarian asshole. The producer was conflicted. She thought the play was funnier with local references but she was terrified she’d get sued. I offered to co-sign the production agreement that way if she was sued, so was I. The show went on and after one particularly nasty review (wholly centered on how taking out the NYC references gutted the play in his opinion), we received a ‘Cease and Desist’ letter.

We did not cease. We did not desist.

There was no follow-up because the theater was a storefront in Lincoln Avenue and, really, Allen had more important fish to fry in the mid-nineties.

Frankly, I see being highly protective of intellectual property to be a bit dainty. I understand that protecting one’s ability to make money off of one’s art has value but it’s about the creation, right? Apparently I’m in the minority on this. I stopped believing I’d be rich and famous decades ago and thus I create what I create because I can.

A few years ago, I self published Belief is a Sledgehammer and made very little cash on it. I was happy with the book and went to work on more. Then I found out that Belief is a Sledgehammer had been lifted, translated into Russian, and was being sold on a Russian book site. I was thrilled!

I wrote to the site and let them know I had no issue with the theft but asked if they could put the Literate Ape URL in the book credits. They were happy to oblige. It’s a bizarre sort of cool to know that someone in the former USSR might be reading my thoughts.

Back to Oisín Moyne. I hope he takes this lesson in restriction and pulls hard against the grain. Theater artists are supposed to be pirates, outlaws, and vagabonds. I hope he pushes back and produces his version of Godot with a cast of parrots or cocker spaniels. I hope he casts all women but has them wear strap-ons. I hope he gets spicy.

Artists refuse to stay in the box. Artists do not work within the system. Artists seek stories that show the triumph or failure of the individual versus the conformity of the System. Artists do not sacrifice the integrity of their work in order to market it better or develop their audience. While everyone can create art, not everyone is an artist. An artist is not defined by his or her income. Artists do not solve problems, they reveal them and provide insight. Artists can make you laugh, cry and question your own place in the world. Artists do not accept the Standard Party Line.

Beckett was an artist and he gave no fucks. Oisín Moyne should give none in return.