People who are familiar with Samuel Beckett’s work won’t be surprised by their frustration in trying to identify a clear meaning from any of his plays, including Endgame. This faithful adaptation by Facility Theatre, directed by Yasen Peyankov, does not ease the process of sense-making that we are used to applying to any production. The set is bleak and bare and suggestive of a nuclear bunker and, in this production, the back wall and two trash cans are draped in a drop cloth that you might find on a construction site. Scenic designer Kirk Andersen stuck strongly to the gritty minimalism typical of Beckett’s plays. The industrial lighting done by lighting designer Richard Norwood also suggests a construction site, vibrant and harsh when flicked on throughout the play. Housed in this grey setting are Hamm, an immobile man in goggles, a red nightgown and toque, seated in a wheeled armchair, and his servant, Clov, red-eyed, obedient, and yet aggrieved. Hamm’s father, Nagg, an “accursed progenitor,” and his mother, Nell, live in two separate trash cans that they frequently pop out of.
The play straddles the line between comedy and total despair. The humor is an effect of such unremitting bleakness as when Hamm asks, “Why don’t you kill me?” and Clov responds, “I don’t know the combination of the cupboard.” Similarly, when Hamm and Clov remark on their inability to stand or sit, respectively, Hamm says bleakly, “Every man his specialty.” It is not a destructive impulse that guides these characters, but perpetual indecision due to the constant thwarting their surroundings impose on their every impetus. They cannot be anything. They can only devolve.
The actors deliver wonderfully in this performance. York Griffith performs an excellent, impassioned version of Clov. He speaks, per Beckett’s original stage directions, with occasional violent aggression and seems deeply aggravated throughout the play, deepening the existential heaviness of the production. Kirk Andersen’s Hamm is more frequently funny and less angsty than Clov, a bit less emotional about the general hopelessness. He maintains a theatrical tone. H.B. Ward (Nagg) and Shawna Franks (Nell) provide more lighthearted humor. Ward’s Nagg pokes his head out of the trash can for a biscuit like an expectant baby bird. He humorously beckons Nell to scratch an itch.
The prop design, often fun in Beckett, is made by Bisa in this production. The characters interact pathetically with their props. Clov drags a wooden ladder around and frequently forgets it. Hamm pets a three-legged stuffed dog he drops too often. Consistent with the inertia that makes them babble rather than explain themselves, the characters flail about with their surroundings and their props with no sure direction.
People who are fans of Beckett would love this faithful production and the excellent, studied performances. Many people, though, will likely not enjoy this Beckett play, considering its intentional refusal to make sense. People who like closure and clear character motivation should steer clear. If you love absurdist humor and explorations of despair, you should see Endgame.
Facility Theatre's Endgame will run through June 29 at Facility Theatre, 1138 N California Ave. General admission tickets are $30. Runtime is 100 minutes with no intermission. Get your tickets here.
For more information on this and other productions, see theatreinchicago.com.
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