There are theatre‑goers who revel in the riddles of Theatre of the Absurd, and others who find the whole enterprise… well, a little absurd. With his debut play While They Were Waiting, Gary Wilmot finds an inviting middle ground, crafting a piece that honours the traditions of the genre while remaining accessible, warm and delightfully entertaining.
A two‑hander centred on two men waiting will, inevitably, invite comparisons with Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. Wilmot leans into the echoes without being beholden to them. His Bix is homeless, much like Beckett’s tramps, yet this is no mere homage. Instead, Wilmot uses the familiarity of the set‑up as a springboard for something lighter, more playful and distinctly his own.
Mulberry (Steve Furst) arrives at a bright yellow door and, finding no reply to his ringing, simply settles in, waiting, as it happens, is his favourite pastime. Bix soon appears, and the pair, strangers for all of two minutes, fall into philosophical discourse as naturally as breathing. Here, the play gently reveals its central preoccupation: it reminds us that we are all waiting, all of the time, “they even have rooms for it” says Bix, perhaps a reference to the fact that there are three separate existing plays all with the title The Waiting Room.
Wilmot delights in a touch of metatheatre: Mulberry cheerfully explains the concept of the fourth wall, describing the audience as flies on a wall that doesn’t exist, and where the pair waiting for Godot do so in two acts, Mulberry and Bix decide mid‑performance that one act will suffice for them. Like in all the best absurdist theatre, the characters engage in repetitive, circular conversations. Personally, I’ve always found this rather frustrating, but I was able to settle into it quite easily here, perhaps because it doesn’t rely solely on absurdist tropes for its humour. While They Were Waiting is incredibly funny, but it’s also intelligent and many of the philosophical discussions aren’t so abstract as to disengage the audience.
Hannah Danson’s set is bright, open and faintly surreal, suggesting a rural nowhere, Cuba according to the programme notes, though it could just as easily be the edge of any town, the outskirts of any dream. Simon Jackson’s lighting pulls rich texture from the colour palette, conjuring changes in atmosphere with grace, aided by Isaac Bernier‑Doyle’s subtle sound design.
Wilmot may be best known as a West End leading man and a beloved fixture of the Palladium pantomime, but those unfamiliar with his wider career may be pleasantly surprised by his dexterity as a playwright, and by his instinct for comic structure. Steve Furst gives an excellent performance as Mulberry, leaning into the character’s eccentricities while grounding them with real charm.
While They Were Waiting is an engaging, well‑crafted and often joyous piece of theatre that balances absurdism with accessibility. As an introduction to the form, it works beautifully; for devotees, there is plenty to savour in its humour and intelligence. And if this polished and playful debut is any indication, one can only hope Gary Wilmot won’t keep us waiting quite so long for the next.
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