Waiting for Godot to Return to the West End; Rees Will Wait With McKellen

By Mark Shenton
November 23, 2009

The hit production of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot that ended a sell-out run at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in August 2009 is to return to the same address in the New Year, but with Ian McKellen's Estragon newly joined by Roger Rees as Vladimir.

Rees, the British-born actor who has long been resident in the U.S., famously reprised his performance in the title role of the RSC's adaptation of Dickens' The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby in 1981, for which he won the 1982 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play; he was also Tony nominated in 1995 for his performance in Indiscretions. The latter was directed by Sean Mathias, who has directed this production of Waiting for Godot. Rees' other Broadway appearances include London Assurance in 1974, The Red Shoes in 1993 (from which he was replaced during previews), The Rehearsal in 1996 and Uncle Vanya in 2000. Other appearances Off-Broadway include starring in the original Lincoln Center Theater production of Ahrens and Flaherty's A Man of No Importance in 2002.

On the London stage, he also created a leading role in the original production of Stoppard's The Real Thing in the West End in 1984. He has been seen on TV in "Cheers" and "The West Wing," and on film in "Robin Hood: Men in Tights." He was previously artistic director of Williamstown Theatre Festival from 2004 to 2007.

Currently running at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket is a stage version of Breakfast at Tiffany's, booking through Jan. 9 2010. Dates for the return of Waiting for Godot are still to be announced.