Endgame Review

To be honest, I was a little scared to see Endgame. Reading the script was really weird, and frankly unsettling. It also made zero sense. However, on stage, everything came together nicely. This was due to the excellent use of lighting and sound, use of blank space, and character development.

The very beginning of the show was extremely disjointing. All of a sudden, the stage lit up bright white and a very electronic, high-pitched noise filled the theater. I figured this show was set before modern time, (I don’t know why I thought that but I did), and the electronic noise threw me off guard. However, the second the lights and sound fell, everything just seemed… mediocre. It was almost humorous, and clearly intentional. This is the only time we experienced a clear shift in the lighting. Most of the time, it was the same blue-ish gray light that lit the whole stage. I think they may have gone down when Hamm was speaking solo, but it was slow and barely noticeable. The sound varied, but happened in patterns. Whenever Clov left the room, the door slammed - loudly. Whenever Hamm wanted him back, he whistled - loudly. The alarm clock followed less of a pattern, but was very loud. The rest of the time, the sound was kind of mundane. This created an interesting vibe. On one hand, every noise was loud and disrupting. However, they happened in a pattern, and these shocking, disrupting things became part of the routine. Both the lighting and the sound contributed to a sense of patterns and becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable.

When I Mr. Aronson was my director, he emphasized using the space, and taking advantage of silence. While this may not have been translated in my performance of Gretta, i definitely saw it in Endgame. Clov was able to convey so much about his own character in the first 5 minutes of the show, while not saying anything. He established a routine of forgetfulness by forgetting the ladder at the window, dislike for Hamm by giving him dirty looks, desperation by going from window to window, searching for anything, and pain in his walk. Hamm also did a great job of this at the end. He took a lot of pauses in his monologue about Clov leaving, (everybody leaving) that did not disrupt the flow. While he was unable to physically use the space, he had incredible stage presence that shone through when he was silent.

It was evident that each actor spent a lot of time thinking through their characters. Hamm was very good at taking up space despite never moving. Clov demonstrated pain through his movement and voice. The father made a face that made him look almost… crazy? He was too happy for their situation. The mother’s voice gave a very similar vibe. I do wish we saw more of her. She was extremely talented.

Overall, I really enjoyed Endgame. It was very abstract, and makes me wonder a little about the mental state of the author, but I really liked it.