The Godot Diaries: Behind the Scenes of Beckett's Play

(Hardback)

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From seminal actor Lucian Msamati comes a fascinating behind-the-scenes account of working on the major 2024 production of one of the most iconic plays ever written - Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot.

From receiving the call offering him the role of Estragon to the opening night at London's Theatre Royal Haymarket, Lucian Msamati's rehearsal diary enables us to better understand Beckett's play from the inside and, crucially, from an actor's perspective.

A welcome antidote to the extensive academic literature available on the play, this book gives us a behind-the-scenes perspective on this play from audition to script-reading to polished performance.

With a cast made up of other seminal actors Ben Whishaw, Jonathan Slinger and Tom Edden, James Macdonald's production of Waiting for Godot sheds light on so many of the play's themes and preoccupations, while bringing a new lens in casting a Black actor in the role of Estragon.

We join Lucian Msamati as he embarks on the journey from page to stage, never knowing what the next day will bring and sharing in revelation after revelation as he revisits this play as an actor 20 years after first reading it.

We also are witness to how a West End production takes shape, from assembling its cast to the first night and beyond, including the rehearsal-room dynamics, dramaturgical light-bulb moments, and the day-to-day life of actors working with one another to bring words on a page to vivid life.

Author Bio

Lucian Msamati is a celebrated actor, writer and director. Born in the UK and raised in Zimbabwe by his Tanzanian parents, Msamati founded Zimbabwe's Over the Edge Theatre Company. As an actor in TV and film, he has appeared in Ultimate Force, Spooks, Ashes to Ashes, Doctor Who, Death in Paradise, Luther, The Hollow Crown (Richard II), The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, The International, Game of Thrones, Gangs of London, Black Earth Rising, His Dark Materials, Taboo and Conclave. On stage, he has appeared in a large number of productions at venues including the National Theatre, West End, RSC, Almeida, Kiln, Royal Court, Shakespeare's Globe and American Repertory Theater, and notably was the first Black actor to play Iago in Othello. He is the author of Acting in the National Theatre Backstage Guides series (Methuen Drama, 2025).