"It is true that when with folded arms we weigh the pros and cons we are no less a credit to our species. The tiger bounds to the help of his congeners without the least reflexion, or else he slinks away into the depths of the thickets. But that is not the question. What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in the immense confusion one thing alone is clear. We are waiting for Godot to come.." -- from "Waiting For Godot", by Irish-French playwright Samuel Beckett. The play was originally written in French ("En attendant Godot") and later translated for English speaking audiences.
"Waiting For Godot" premiered in Paris on this day in 1953 at the Théâtre de Babylone, and remains Beckett's most famous work. Normally classified as absurdist theatre with existential themes, Beckett resisted "interpretations" of the play beyond what was actually presented, once telling an actor in the play, "It's all symbiosis, Peter. It's symbiosis."
(photo: From the original production. British Library)
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