Waiting for Godot - with Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen

Its not very often that you sit and watch something knowing that you are enjoying a once in a lifetime experience. Something that you will never smell, see, or hear ever again, something like Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen as Vladimir and Estragon in Samuel Beckett's 'play about nothing' Waiting for Godot at the Norwich Theatre Royal.

I first read Waiting for Godot 6 years ago whilst studying English Literature at College. I loved it - I loved reading it, analysing it and writing essays about it. I never once saw it performed though... which was silly really, with hindsight, but there were no shows of it on and I don't think it would have worked as well on video.

Being a total geek I have loved Patrick Stewart since the first series of Star Trek - The Next Generation (totally love it!) I also went to the University where he is Chancellor (Huddersfield) yet I never once saw him - he didn't even do my graduation... In fact I'm still a bit put out I had to pay to see him, but thats not the point of this post...

The point is that with all the expectations I had of knowing and loving the play and the actors, still did not prepare me for how wonderful and amazing Waiting for Godot is when performed. It was funny, captivating, enchanting and endearing, the time seemed to fly by. Simon Callow was perfect as Pozzo, as was Ronald Pickup as Lucky and the friendship that Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen have translated so well into the characters that you really felt for Vladimir and Estragon's plight, even though you knew it was helpless.

We saw the play on Monday and I've only just written this as I still can't really believe that I saw it... Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen as Vladimir and Estragon in Samuel Beckett's 'play about nothing' Waiting for Godot... enough said really.