Endgame

Bill Irwin and John Douglas Thompson (Carol Rosegg)

(Posted 2/27/23) By Fern Siegel

Samuel Beckett’s plays are often set in a post-apocalyptic world, devoid of hope and people, where chaos and absurdity reign. And Endgame, first staged in 1957, and Beckett’s favorite, is a shining example.

Written after the death of the playwright’s mother and brother, Endgame, now off-Broadway at the Irish Repertory Theater, confronts both the pain of existence and how difficult it is for life to end.

The minimalist set by Charlie Corcoran — a room by the sea, glimpsed only by a small opening in a brick wall, heightens the desperation. There is scattered debris on the floor and torn curtains on walls without windows. The laughter following that reveal takes on a grimmer meaning as the play progresses. There is no future to view, only the eternal now.

Two men — Hamm (John Douglas Thompson) and Clov (Bill Irwin) are a vaudeville-like duo. Hamm, the elderly blind man who howls from his chair like Lear on the heath, is master of his tormented domain. Clov, his abused servant with a painfully twisted leg, longs to leave, but can’t. Both are trapped in their routines, which Irwin, a master of physical comedy, executes in singular fashion. One can’t sit; the other can’t stand.

There is no place to go; there is no solace. They sometimes threaten to leave each other, but given their bleak existence, can’t. Clov is at the mercy of his master’s whistle. Hamm endlessly asks for his painkiller, wanting only to know when his ordeal will end. There is an existential dread here, broken only by moments of cracked humor.

Two legless, but engaging characters, the remains of Hamm's parents, live in the trash cans next to him. They pop up occasionally as Beckett’s version of comic relief. Nagg (Joe Grifasi) and Nell (Patrice Johnson Chevannes) focus largely on “yesterday.” Remembering past experiences, Nell notes: “Nothing is funnier than unhappiness.”

Orla Long's torn and dusty costumes, augmented by sound designer M. Florian Staab’s disquieting music, complete the dreary scene. Aided by four excellent actors, Ciarán O’Reilly’s direction sets the stage for 85 uninterrupted minutes of hypnotic despair, even if the pacing is uneven at times.

Thompson, long admired as a Shakespearean actor, centers the action, as he and Irwin work as a point-counterpoint team. Endgame is disturbing, morbid and telling. In this strange world, where characters cling, however precariously and oddly, to each other, Beckett reveals larger truths about existence.