PRESS CUTTINGS
WAITING FOR
GODOT AT THE CULTURAL
CENTRE
New Nation
December 6, 1972
Marvellous balance of pathos and humour. . . . .
by Violet Oon
Beckett's controversial
play, Waiting for Godot will be staged by the University of Singapore Society
from tomorrow to Saturday at the Cultural Theatre. First produced in1953,
the play has been interpreted in many ways from existentialism to a religious
statement on the necessity of spirituality in human life.
Godot, for whom the play's two tramps are waiting and who never comes, has
been variously considered as God or as death.
The producers,
Chandran Nair and Ivy Goh Nair, have seen in the play the marvellous balance of
pathos and humour and have tried to project this. Chandran is known for
his poetry but this is his first venture into production.
He
said: "I have been helping backstage in many Guild House productions and I
have also acted in Experimental Theatre Club productions, but there is a great
difference between acting and producing. So much more is involved in
putting on a play than one realises. You are forced not only to think of
movement but also how to depict individual characters."
Miss Goh
agreed with Mr Nair. She said: "I took the lead female part in two
Kuala Lumpur productions and have had experience, like Chandran, helping
backstage. But this is also my first stinct in production. Being
co-producers we do divide the work but our roles are not clear-cut.
Generally, you could say I am more concerned with production while Chandran is
concerned with direction."
They have been rehearsing with the
actors for six weeks and are now polishing up the play. Kiru Joseph
plays the slave, Clive Scharenguivel, the master, Darshan Singh, the
messenger. The tramps are Gurdip Singh, as Estragon and Tony Milsom as
Vladimir. The play begins at 8 pm. The tickets at $4, $3 and
$2 are available at C.K. Tang ,and Cold Storage or by ringing 56834.
GODOT . . .
. CONTROVERSIAL PLAY WELL
PRODUCED
Straits Times
8 December 1972
Who is Godot? And why are the two tramps waiting for him? Why does he not come?
"Let's get away from here" says Estragon the tramp. "We can't"--it's too late," say Vladimir, the other tramp.
They're stuck--waiting for Godot. And so are we, the audience. We too wait for Godot. Some wait for Godot who never appears and some wait for the end of the play.
"Waiting for Godot" by Samuel Beckett was presented by the University of Singapore Society at the Cultural Centre last night.
This controversial play was intelligently produced by Chandran Nair and Ivy Goh.
Outstanding in his interpretation of Pozzo was Clive Scharenguivel with Kiru Joseph making the most out of his role of Lucky.
Estragon (Gogo) and Vladimir (Didi) the two tramps were played by Gurdip Singh and Tony Milsom. Both characters were efficiently depicted, but greater depth of character projection well integrated with characteristic mannerisms would have lent the necessary involvement of the watching audience.
Boy was played by Darshan Singh.
Setting was an effectively bare stage with scaffoldings bound together to represent a tree. Interval music was appropriate and the opening of Act II most impressive.---GTC.
NOBEL WINNER'S PLAY TO BE TELECAST
New Nation
2 December 1972
Sight and Sound by Edgar Koh
On Arts Review (Thursday Ch 5; 6.55 p.m.) amateur producer Mr Chandran Nair presents a very much called-for interpretation of Samuel Beckett's play, Waiting for Godot. The play will be staged at the Cultural Centre next week.
The two-act play by the 1969 Nobel Prize winner has been described as existentialist in the tradition of Sartre, religious, anti-religious and even as belonging to the threatre of the absurd.
No doubt Mr Nair will give an idea of the scope of the play to viewers who are interested in serious drama in Singapore. He will speak generally on the amateur actor and producer here.
Arts Review will also carry a short film on the rehearsal of the play by the University of Singapore Society as well as an interview with the leading actor, Clive Scharenguivel.
VARSITY TO STAGE WAITING FOR GODOT
The New Nation
November 72
The University of Singapore Society will present Samuel Beckett's two-act play, Waiting for Godot, in early December.
Produced by local poet Chandran Nair and his
fiancee miss Ivy Goh, the play is being staged by an entirely new group which
has emerged within the society.
The five character cast consists of
Clive Sharenguivel, Tony Milsom, Kiru Joseph, Gurdip Singh and Darshan
Singh.
To Mr Nair, Godot is one of the two plays "I've always wanted to produce".
According to him, the play is open to numerous interpretations. Religiously, it concerns man's loss of spirituality in a desert which is devoid of the meaning of life.
Godot won Beckett, a British playwright writing in French, the Nobel Prize for literature in 1969. It is considered his best work.