Running until 21 December 2024
Run time Approx. 2hrs - 2hrs 30mins
Includes interval
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Waiting for Godot London tickets
Samuel Beckett’s game changing play returns to the Theatre Royal Haymarket for a strictly limited season. Starring Lucian Msamati and Ben Whishaw, tickets are expected to quickly sell-out, so don’t wait too long to book yours!
What is Waiting for Godot about?
“Let us do something, while we have the chance…at this place, at this moment of time, all mankind is us, whether we like it or not. Let us make the most of it before it is too late!”
One of the greatest plays of the 20th century, Waiting for Godot explores the meaning of life and the absurdity of existence.
Didi and Gogo wait by a tree for a man named Godot. They don’t know who he is, why they are meeting or what time he is coming – only that something incredible could happen when he does…
Facts and critical acclaim
- In a 1998 poll of more than 800 theatre professionals conducted by the UK's Royal National Theatre, Waiting for Godot was voted the most important English-language play of the 20th century.
- Ben Whishaw is the recipient of two Emmys, two BAFTAs and a Golden Globe.
- Lucian Msamati was the first black actor to play Iago in the Royal Shakespeare Company's acclaimed 2015 production of Othello. He has also starred in the Olivier award-winning Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Amadeus, and the multi-award winning Clybourne Park.
Waiting for Godot cast
- Lucian Msamati
- Ben Whishaw
Waiting for Godot creatives
- Book: Samuel Beckett
- Director: James Macdonald
Upcoming Performance Times
Running time
Approx. 2hrs - 2hrs 30minsPerformance dates
13 September - 21 December 2024Access
Audio Described Performance: Tuesday 15 October 2024 at 7.30pm , Captioned Performance: Thursday 24 October 2024 at 7.30pm,Venue Information
Theatre Royal HaymarketHaymarket, London, SW1Y 4HTLatest Waiting for Godot News
News / Reviews / New Shows + Transfers
Review Roundup: What are the critics saying about Waiting for Godot?
Ben Whishaw (Paddington, James Bond) was so inspired by a production of Waiting for Godot, that he quit his Art foundation degree to study acting instead. Does the new adaptation carry the same life changing weight, or will you be waiting for it to end?
The most well-known play from the Theatre of the Absurd movement, Waiting for Godot was written by theatre legend Samuel Beckett in 1953. 35 years after it first premiered, the play was voted the most important English-language play of the 20th century. The latest reincarnation, currently playing at the Theatre Royal Haymarket stars Ben Wishaw and Lucian Msamati (Game of Thrones, See How They Run) as the patient pair, Didi and Gogo.
The duo wait for Godot, they don’t know who he is, why they are meeting or what time he is coming – only that something incredible could happen when he does…
20 Sep, 2024 | By Sian McBride
News / Casting / New Shows + Transfers
Waiting for Godot confirm full cast
We hope that there’s enough room on the bench, because full casting has been announced for this year's highly anticipated show, Waiting for Godot! Joining the previously announced Lucian Msamati (Game of Thrones) as Estragon and Ben Whishaw (Paddington) as Vladimir will be Tom Edden (Crazy For You) as Lucky and Jonathan Slinger (Richard II and Richard III) as Pozzo. They will be joined by Luca Fone, Alexander Joseph and Ellis Pang sharing the role of The Boy and Dean Graham (Understudy Vladimir and Lucky) and David Lee-Jones (Understudy Estragon and Pozzo).
Award-winning director, James Macdonald, said today “One of the greatest and most radical plays ever written. Four extraordinary actors. A brilliant design for London's oldest and most beautiful playhouse. For me this is all beyond exciting.”
20 Aug, 2024 | By Sian McBride
News / Features
Theatre Royal Haymarket Best Seats and Seating Plan
Dating back to 1720, The Theatre Royal Haymarket (previously known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is the third oldest playhouse in London still in use. The original building stood further north in Suffolk Street than its current location which has remained the same since 1821 when it was redesigned. The venue is a Grade I listed building, seats 888 and boasts to be the first venue where a matinee performance was scheduled.
What are the best seats at the Theatre Royal Haymarket?
The auditorium is split over four levels consisting of Stalls, Royal Circle, Upper Circle and Gallery. Seating in the stalls is particularly good as the overhang of the circle doesn’t really affect the view from this area until Row V backwards. The next level up, the royal circle, offers an excellent view of the action on stage and the overhang from the Upper Circle doesn’t affect the view from any seat in this section. The seats in the Upper Circle curve toward the stage giving decent views for the price range although legroom is tight. The Gallery feels distant from the stage in comparison to the other areas in the auditorium.
Theatre Royal Haymarket seating plan
6 Jun, 2024 | By James Wareham
Valid on Monday - Thursday performances 4 November - 19 December 2024. Book by 8 December 2024.