Theatre programme for 12 September 1955 production of Waiting for Godot

London: Criterion Theatre. 1955

183x127mm. pp.8. Illustrated front cover. Bound with two staples. In very good condition with the original price ticket (6d) at the fore-edge where it also acted as a seal guaranteeing that the programme had not been previously opened.
Waiting for Godot received its first UK performance at the Arts Theatre in London on 3 August 1955. The director was Peter Hall and the production was a turning point in English experimental theatre. A success, the play then transferred to the Criterion Theatre. Although Hall had already made his name at the Oxford Playhouse, his production of Waiting for Godot put him firmly on the map, making him the hottest property in English theatre. Not that he necessarily understood Beckett. As he said at a rehearsal: "I haven't really the foggiest idea what some of it means ... But if we stop and discuss every line we'll never open."