The most famous tree in theatre history & Q&A with Luke Lennox

We're in the final stages of rehearsal for Waiting for Godot and we can't wait for you to see the production. Read on for a brief history of theatre's most famous tree, and a Q&A with actor Luke Lennox on why he loves the play so much.

The most famous tree in theatre history

A country road. A tree. Evening.

So begins Waiting for Godot, opening with one of theatre's most famous — or infamous — stage directions. Seemingly so simple, Beckett's setting has been challenging set designers for over 70 years. A tree is a tree is a tree — but not when it's Godot.

Set designers have battled with remaining true to the starkness of Beckett's world while simultaneously expressing their own creativity. Francis O'Connor, designer of Druid Theatre's acclaimed 2017 production, called Beckett's directions both “prescriptive and liberating at the same time”. Nonetheless, he and director Garry Hynes both lamented: “What the hell are we going to do with the tree!?”

Beckett himself was famously known for making very clear his feelings about how different designers tackled the tree. He vetoed the original design for Peter Hall's 1955 UK premiere of the play, saying that although he could see artistic merit, the set — and in particular the tree — was not right for Godot.

Beckett would have the chance to work on his own design concept, co-opting his drinking pal, the famed sculptor Alberto Giacometti, to devise the tree for Beckett's 1961 Paris production.

Beckett and Giacometti discussing the tree

The pair agonised over the design. “We spent the whole night in the studio with that plaster tree,” Giacometti said, “trying to make it sparser, smaller, the branches thinner. It never looked any good, and neither he nor I liked it. And we kept saying to each other, Perhaps like this…” For all that their indecisiveness mirrored Estragon's and Vladimir's failure to launch, the result was a success — Giacometti's skeletal plaster tree was praised by Beckett as being “the Godot tree”.

Whether a realistic representation of arboreal starkness, a symbolic sculptural creation presenting the essence of tree-ness, or a mixture of the two, Beckett's tree is a metaphor for the play itself: seemingly simple, where nothing much seems to happen, but scratch the surface and it represents everything.

The cast of Waiting for Godot — Tim Rogers, Angus Read-Hill, Tim Heath and Luke Lennox. penny ryan photography

Q&A with Luke Lennox

penny ryan photography

Luke is a Chewton based actor with almost 30 years of experience working in television, film and theatre across Australia and the UK. He has appeared in some of Australia's most iconic television series, including Blue Heelers, Neighbours and Kath & Kim. His film credits include Angst (2000), You and Your Stupid Mate (2005) and Measure for Measure (2019). Theatre highlights include The Bald Soprano (Threshold TC), Of Dysentery and Madness: A Trapper's Tale (Tiprat Theatre), Arcadia, Blood and Ice and Picasso at the Lapin Agile (PMD Productions), Octonauts and the Deep Sea Volcano Adventure (Fiery Light), and for the Australian Shakespeare Company Macbeth, The Merry Wives of Windsor and The Wind in the Willows. Luke also had the privilege of studying clowning in Paris under the late and legendary Philippe Gaulier. He plays Lucky in Waiting for Godot.

What interested you in performing in Waiting for Godot?

Beckett is a master and getting to say his words is a privilege.

What will audiences get out of seeing this play?

Laughs, fear, confusion, hope, distress and the pleasure of hearing Beckett's words spoken out loud.

What have been the most exciting discoveries?

Working on the floor with such a great director as Janice and the whole team has been amazing, and assisted me to discover ‘who’ Lucky is, was and will be…

What have you learnt about yourself during the process?

That language travels with you in time, and even when written 80 years ago, words are everything. It has reinforced how much I love language.

Why should audiences come and see Waiting for Godot?

To be entertained, to be self-reflexive of our ever changing complex world, and to discover more questions than answers!

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