Editing Waiting for Godot (section)

====UK====
Like all of Beckett's translations, the English translation of ''Waiting for Godot'' is not simply a literal translation of ''{{Lang|fr|En attendant Godot}}''. "Small but significant differences separate the French and English text. Some, like Vladimir's inability to remember the farmer's name (Bonnelly<ref>A farmer in Roussillon, the village where Beckett fled during World War II; he never worked for the Bonnellys, though he used to visit and purchase eggs and wine there. See {{harvnb|Cronin|1997|p=333}}</ref>), show how the translation became more indefinite, attrition and loss of memory more pronounced."{{sfn|Ackerley|Gontarski|2006|pp=622, 623}} A number of biographical details were removed, all adding to a general "vaguening"<ref>An expression coined by Beckett in which he makes the "meaning" less and less clear at each draft. A detailed discussion of Beckett's method can be found in Pountney, R., ''Theatre of Shadows: Samuel Beckett's Drama'' 1956–1976 (Gerrards Cross: Colin Smythe, 1988) although it concentrates on later works when this process had become more refined.</ref> of the text which he continued to trim for the rest of his life.

The English-language saw its first UK production on 3 August 1955 at the [[Arts Theatre]] in London, directed by [[Peter Hall (director)|Peter Hall]].    During an early rehearsal Hall told the cast "I haven't really the foggiest idea what some of it means ... But if we stop and discuss every line we'll never open."<ref name=Klein>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/02/nyregion/theater-reviews-decades-later-the-quest-for-meaning-goes-on.html|title=Decades Later, the Quest for Meaning Goes On|last=Klein|first=Alvin|author-link=Alvin Klein|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2 November 1997|access-date=4 June 2019|archive-date=24 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724144302/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/02/nyregion/theater-reviews-decades-later-the-quest-for-meaning-goes-on.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Again, the printed version preceded it (New York: Grove Press, 1954) but Faber's "mutilated" edition did not materialise until 1956. A "corrected" edition was subsequently produced in 1965. "The most accurate text is in ''Theatrical Notebooks'' I, (Ed.) Dougald McMillan and James Knowlson (Faber and Grove, 1993). It is based on Beckett's revisions for his Schiller-Theater production (1975) and the London San Quentin Drama Workshop, based on the Schiller production but revised further at the [[Riverside Studios]] (March 1984)."{{sfn|Ackerley|Gontarski|2006|pp=620, 621}}

In the 1950s, theatre was strictly [[Censorship|censored]] in the UK, to Beckett's amazement since he thought it a bastion of [[Freedom of speech|free speech]]. The [[Lord Chamberlain]] insisted that the word "[[erection]]" be removed, "&thinsp;'Fartov' became 'Popov' and Mrs Gozzo had '[[wart]]s' instead of '[[Gonorrhea|clap]]{{'"}}.{{sfn|Bair|1990|p=471}} Indeed, there were attempts to ban the play completely. Lady Dorothy Howitt wrote to the Lord Chamberlain, saying: "One of the many themes running through the play is the desire of two old tramps continually to relieve themselves. Such a dramatisation of lavatory necessities is offensive and against all sense of British decency."<ref>Letter released under the [[Freedom of information legislation|Freedom of Information Act]]. Quoted by Peter Hall in '[https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2005/aug/24/theatre.beckettat100 Godot Almighty] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521013130/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2005/aug/24/theatre.beckettat100 |date=21 May 2024 }}', ''[[The Guardian]]'', 24 August 2005</ref> "The first unexpurgated version of ''Godot'' in England ... opened at the [[Royal Court Theatre|Royal Court]] on 30 December 1964."{{sfn|Bair|1990|p=613}}

The London run was not without incident. The actor [[Peter Bull]], who played Pozzo, recalls the reaction of that first night audience:
[[File:En attendant Godot, Festival d'Avignon, 1978.jpeg|thumb|''En attendant Godot'', 1978 [[Festival d'Avignon]], directed by [[Otomar Krejča]]]]
<blockquote>Waves of hostility came whirling over the footlights, and the mass exodus, which was to form such a feature of the run of the piece, started quite soon after the curtain had risen. The audible groans were also fairly disconcerting ... The curtain fell to mild applause, we took a scant three calls ([[Peter Woodthorpe]] reports only one [[curtain call]]<ref>[[Peter Woodthorpe]] on the British première of ''Waiting for Godott'' in Knowlson, James and Elizabeth, (Eds.) ''Beckett Remembering – Remembering Beckett'' (London: Bloomsbury, 2006), p. 122</ref>) and a depression and a sense of anti-climax descended on us all.<ref>Bull, P., ''I know the face but ...'', quoted in ''Casebook on 'Waiting for Godot'', pp. 41, 42. Quoted in Knowlson, J., ''Damned to Fame: The Life of Samuel Beckett'' (London: Bloomsbury, 1996), p. 414</ref></blockquote>

The critics were less than kind but "[e]verything changed on Sunday 7 August 1955 with [[Kenneth Tynan]]'s and [[Harold Hobson]]'s reviews in ''[[The Observer]]'' and ''[[The Sunday Times]]''. Beckett was always grateful to the two reviewers for their support ... which more or less transformed the play overnight into the rage of London."<ref>Knowlson, James, ''Damned to Fame: The Life of Samuel Beckett'' (London: Bloomsbury, 1996), p. 415</ref> "At the end of the year, the [[Evening Standard]] Drama Awards were held for the first time ... Feelings ran high and the opposition, led by Sir [[Malcolm Sargent]], threatened to resign if ''Godot'' won [The Best New Play category]. An English compromise was worked out by changing the title of the award. ''Godot'' became The Most Controversial Play of the Year. It is a prize that has never been given since."<ref>[http://samuel-beckett.net/PeterHallGodot.html Peter Hall looks back at the original Godot] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006123343/http://samuel-beckett.net/PeterHallGodot.html |date=6 October 2007 }}, Samuel-Beckett.net</ref>

On 27 April 1960, the [[BBC Third Programme]] broadcast the very first radio adaptation, directed by [[Donald McWhinnie]], with [[Patrick Magee (actor)|Patrick Magee]] as Vladimir, [[Wilfrid Brambell]] as Estragon, [[Felix Felton]] as Pozzo, [[Donal Donnelly]] as Lucky and Jeremy Ward as The Boy.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/a1466f7dc8c34253862877178574d128 |title=BBC Third Programme: "Waiting for Godot" |website=BBC Programme Index |date=27 April 1960 |access-date=2023-02-23 |archive-date=23 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223192417/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/a1466f7dc8c34253862877178574d128 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 26 June 1961, Donald McWhinnie directed a production broadcast on [[BBC Television]], with [[Jack MacGowran]] as Vladimir, [[Peter Woodthorpe]] as Estragon, [[Felix Felton]] as Pozzo, [[Timothy Bateson]] as Lucky and Mark Mileham as The Boy.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/960b8bcc4dad4380a6da7d68a71538d4 |title=BBC Television: "Waiting for Godot" |website=BBC Programme Index |date=26 June 1961 |access-date=2023-02-23 |archive-date=23 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223195655/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/960b8bcc4dad4380a6da7d68a71538d4 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 5 February 1962, the [[BBC Home Service]] broadcast a radio production as part of the ''From the Fifties'' series, directed by [[Robin Midgley]] with [[Nigel Stock (actor)|Nigel Stock]] as Vladimir, [[Kenneth Griffith]] as Estragon, Philip Leaver as Pozzo, [[Andrew Sachs]] as Lucky and Terry Raven as The Boy.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/618256147add4dc785f814507a6ec10c |title=From the Fifties: "Waiting for Godot" |website=BBC Programme Index |date=5 February 1962 |access-date=2023-03-02 |archive-date=5 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305122558/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/618256147add4dc785f814507a6ec10c |url-status=live }}</ref>

In December 1964, [[Nicol Williamson]] played Vladimir, [[Alfred Lynch]] played Estragon and [[Jack MacGowran]] played Lucky in a production at London's [[Royal Court Theatre]] directed by [[Anthony Page]]. This was the first West End revival since the play's British première.