1953 Plays (Book Guide): Waiting for Godot, Picnic, the Crucible, the Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, Camino Real, the Teahouse of the August Moon

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Commentary (plays not included). Pages: 30. Chapters: Waiting for Godot, Picnic, The Crucible, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, Camino Real, The Teahouse of the August Moon, Victimes du devoir, Sabrina Fair, The Fugitive, The Confidential Clerk, Tea and Sympathy, The Sleeping Prince, Carrington V.C., The Orchard Walls, Entas nyt, Niskavuori?, Wine of the Country. Excerpt: Waiting for Godot ( -oh) is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godot to arrive. Godot's absence, as well as numerous other aspects of the play, have led to many different interpretations since the play's premiere. It was voted the most significant English language play of the 20th century. Waiting for Godot is Beckett's translation of his own original French version, En attendant Godot, and is subtitled (in English only) a tragicomedy in two acts. The original French text was composed between 9 October 1948 and 29 January 1949. The premiere was on 5 January 1953 in the Theatre de Babylone, Paris. The production was directed by Roger Blin, who also played the role of Pozzo. Waiting for Godot follows two days in the lives of a pair of men who divert themselves while they wait expectantly and in vain for someone named Godot to arrive. They claim him as an acquaintance but in fact hardly know him, admitting that they would not recognise him were they to see him. To occupy themselves, they eat, sleep, converse, argue, sing, play games, exercise, swap hats, and contemplate suicide - anything to hold the terrible silence at bay. The play opens with the character Estragon struggling to remove his boot from his foot. Estragon eventually gives up, muttering, Nothing to be done. His friend Vladimir takes up the thought and muses on it, the implication being that nothing is a thin...