The Complete Dramatic Works (10 page)

BOY:
[
In
a
rush.
]
Mr Godot told me to tell you he won’t come this evening but surely tomorrow.
[
Silence.
]

VLADIMIR:
Is that all?

BOY:
Yes, sir.
[
Silence
.]

VLADIMIR:
You work for Mr Godot?

BOY:
Yes, sir.

VLADIMIR:
What do you do?

BOY:
I mind the goats, sir.

VLADIMIR:
Is he good to you?

BOY:
Yes, sir.

VLADIMIR:
He doesn’t beat you?

BOY:
No, sir, not me.

VLADIMIR:
Whom does he beat?

BOY:
He beats my brother, sir.

VLADIMIR:
Ah, you have a brother?

BOY:
Yes, sir.

VLADIMIR:
What does he do?

BOY:
He minds the sheep, sir.

VLADIMIR:
And why doesn’t he beat you?

BOY:
I don’t know, sir.

VLADIMIR:
He must be fond of you.

BOY:
I don’t know, sir.
[
Silence
.]

VLADIMIR:
Does he give you enough to eat? [
The
 
BOY
 
hesitates.
]
Does he feed you well?

BOY:
Fairly well, sir.

VLADIMIR:
You’re not unhappy: [
The
 
BOY
hesitates
.]
Do you hear me?

BOY:
Yes, sir.

VLADIMIR:
Well?

BOY:
I don’t know, sir.

VLADIMIR:
You don’t know if you’re unhappy or not?

BOY:
No, sir.

VLADIMIR:
You’re as bad as myself. [
Silence
.]
Where do you sleep?

BOY:
In the loft, sir.

VLADIMIR:
With your brother?

BOY:
Yes, sir.

VLADIMIR:
In the hay?

BOY:
Yes, sir.
[
Silence
.]

VLADIMIR:
All right, you may go.

BOY:
What am I to say to Mr Godot, sir?

VLADIMIR:
Tell him … [
He
hesitates
]
…
tell him you saw us. [
Pause.
]
You did see us, didn’t you?

BOY:
Yes, sir.
[
He
steps
back,
hesitates,
turns
and
exit
running.
The
light
suddenly
fails.
In
a
moment
it
is
night.
The
moon
rises
at
back,
mounts
in
the
sky,
stands
still,
shedding
a
pale
light
on
the
scene
.]

VLADIMIR:
At last! [
ESTRAGON
gets
up
and
goes
towards
VLADIMIR
,
a
boot
in
each
hand.
He
puts
them
down
at
the
edge
of
stage,
straightens
and
contemplates
the
moon.
] What are you doing?

ESTRAGON:
Pale for weariness.

VLADIMIR:
Eh?

ESTRAGON:
Of climbing heaven and gazing on the likes of us.

VLADIMIR:
Your boots. What are you doing with your boots?

ESTRAGON:
[
Turning
to
look
at
the
boots
.]
I’m leaving them
there. [
Pause.
] Another will come, just as … as … as me, but with smaller feet, and they’ll make
him happy.

VLADIMIR:
But you can’t go barefoot!

ESTRAGON:
Christ did.

VLADIMIR:
Christ! What’s Christ got to do with it? You’re not going to compare yourself to
Christ!

ESTRAGON:
All my life I’ve compared myself to him.

VLADIMIR:
But where he lived it was warm, it was dry!

ESTRAGON:
Yes. And they crucified quick.
[
Silence.
]

VLADIMIR:
We’ve nothing more to do here.

ESTRAGON:
Nor anywhere else.

VLADIMIR:
Ah Gogo, don’t go on like that. Tomorrow everything will be better.

ESTRAGON:
How do you make that out?

VLADIMIR:
Did you not hear what the child said?

ESTRAGON:
No.

VLADIMIR:
He said that Godot was sure to come tomorrow. [
Pause.
]
What do you say to that?

ESTRAGON:
Then all we have to do is to wait on here.

VLADIMIR:
Are you mad? We must take cover. [
He
takes
ESTRAGON
by
the
arm.
]
Come on.
[
He
draws
ESTRAGON
after
him.
ESTRAGON
yields,
then
resists.
They
halt.
]

ESTRAGON:
[
Looking
at
the
tree.
]
Pity we haven’t got a bit of rope.

VLADIMIR:
Come on. It’s cold.
[
He
draws
ESTRAGON
after
him.
As
before.
]

ESTRAGON:
Remind me to bring a bit of rope tomorrow.

VLADIMIR:
Yes. Come on.
[
He
draws
him
after
him.
As
before.
]

ESTRAGON:
How long have we been together all the time now?

VLADIMIR:
I don’t know. Fifty years perhaps.

ESTRAGON:
Do you remember the day I threw myself into the Rhône?

VLADIMIR:
We were grape-harvesting.

ESTRAGON:
You fished me out.

VLADIMIR:
That’s all dead and buried.

ESTRAGON:
My clothes dried in the sun.

VLADIMIR:
There’s no good harking back on that. Come on. [
He
draws
him
after
him.
As
before.
]

ESTRAGON:
Wait.

VLADIMIR:
I’m cold!

ESTRAGON:
Wait! [
He
moves
away
from
VLADIMIR
.] I wonder if we wouldn’t have been better off alone, each one for himself. [
He
crosses
the
stage
and
sits
down
on
the
mound.
]
We weren’t made for the same road.

VLADIMIR:
[
Without
anger.
]
It’s not certain.

ESTRAGON:
No, nothing is certain.
[
VLADIMIR
slowly
crosses
the
stage
and
sits
down
beside
 
ESTRAGON
.]

VLADIMIR:
We can still part, if you think it would be better. 

ESTRAGONV
:
It’s not worth while now.
[
Silence.
]

VLADIMIR:
No, it’s not worth while now.
[
Silence.
]

ESTRAGON:
Well, shall we go?

VLADIMIR:
Yes, let’s go.
[
They
do
not
move.
]

CURTAIN

1
All four wear bowlers.

[
He remains a moment silent and motionless, then begins to move feverishly about the
stage. He halts before the tree, comes and goes, before the boots, comes and goes,
halts extreme right, gazes into distance, extreme left, gazes into distance. Enter
ESTRAGON
right, barefoot, head bowed. He slowly crosses the stage.
VLADIMIR
turns and sees him.
]

You again!
[
ESTRAGON
halts, but does not raise his head.
VLADIMIR
goes towards him.
] Come here till I embrace you.

ESTRAGON:
Don’t touch me!

[
VLADIMIR
holds
back,
pained.
]

VLADIMIR:
Do you want me to go away? [
Pause.
]
Gogo! [
Pause.
VLADIMIR
observes
him
attentively.
]
Did they beat you? [
Pause
.]
Gogo! [
ESTRAGON
remains
silent,
head
bowed.
]
Where did you spend the night?

ESTRAGON:
Don’t touch me! Don’t question me! Don’t speak to me! Stay with me!

VLADIMIR:
Did I ever leave you?

ESTRAGON:
You let me go.

VLADIMIR:
Look at me. [
ESTRAGON
does
not
raise
his
head. Violently.
]
Will you look at me!

[
ESTRAGON
raises
his
head.
They
look
long
at
each
other,
then
suddenly
embrace,
clapping
each
other
on
the
back.
End
of
the
embrace,
ESTRAGON
,
no
longer
supported,
almost
falls.
]

ESTRAGON:
What a day!

VLADIMIR:
Who beat you? Tell me.

ESTRAGON:
Another day done with.

VLADIMIR:
Not yet.

ESTRAGON:
For me it’s over and done with, no matter what happens. [
Silence.
]
I heard you singing.

VLADIMIR:
That’s right, I remember.

ESTRAGON:
That finished me. I said to myself, he’s all alone, he thinks I’m gone for ever,
and he sings.

VLADIMIR:
One isn’t master of one’s moods. All day I’ve felt in great form. [
Pause.
]
I didn’t get up in the night, not once!

ESTRAGON:
[
Sadly.
]
You see, you piss better when I’m not there.

VLADIMIR:
I missed you … and at the same time I was happy. Isn’t that a queer thing?

ESTRAGON:
[
Shocked.
]
Happy?

VLADIMIR:
Perhaps it’s not the right word.

ESTRAGON:
And now?

VLADIMIR:
Now? … [
Joyous.
]
There you are again … [
Indifferent.
]
There we are again … [
Gloomy.
]
There I am again.

ESTRAGON:
You see, you feel worse when I’m with you. I feel better alone, too.

VLADIMIR:
[
Vexed.
]
Then why do you always come crawling back?

ESTRAGON:
I don’t know.

VLADIMIR
:
No, but I do. It’s because you don’t know how to defend yourself. I wouldn’t have
let them beat you.

ESTRAGON:
You couldn’t have stopped them.

VLADIMIR:
Why not?

ESTRAGON:
There were ten of them.

VLADIMIR:
No, I mean before they beat you. I would have stopped you from doing whatever it
was you were doing.

ESTRAGON:
I wasn’t doing anything.

VLADIMIR:
Then why did they beat you?

ESTRAGON:
I don’t know.

VLADIMIR:
Ah no, Gogo, the truth is there are things escape you that don’t escape me, you must
feel it yourself.

ESTRAGON:
I tell you I wasn’t doing anything.

VLADIMIR:
Perhaps you weren’t. But it’s the way of doing it that counts, the way of doing it,
if you want to go on living.

ESTRAGON:
I wasn’t doing anything.

VLADIMIR:
You must be happy, too, deep down, if you only knew it.

ESTRAGON:
Happy about what?

VLADIMIR:
To be back with me again.

ESTRAGON:
Would you say so?

VLADIMIR:
Say you are, even if it’s not true.

ESTRAGON:
What am I to say?

VLADIMIR:
Say, I am happy.

ESTRAGON:
I am happy.

VLADIMIR:
So am I.

ESTRAGON:
So am I.

VLADIMIR:
We are happy.

ESTRAGON:
We are happy. [
Silence.
]
What do we do now, now that we are happy?

VLADIMIR:
Wait for Godot, [
ESTRAGON
groans.
Silence
.] Things have changed since yesterday.

ESTRAGON:
And if he doesn’t come?

VLADIMIR:
[
After
a
moment
of
bewilderment.
]
We’ll see when the time comes. [
Pause.
]
I was saying that things have changed here since yesterday.

ESTRAGON:
Everything oozes.

VLADIMIR:
Look at the tree.

ESTRAGON:
It’s never the same pus from one second to the next.

VLADIMIR:
The tree, look at the tree.

[
ESTRAGON
looks
at
the
tree.
]

ESTRAGON:
Was it not there yesterday?

VLADIMIR:
Yes, of course it was there. Do you not remember? We nearly hanged ourselves from
it. But you wouldn’t. Do you not remember?

ESTRAGON:
You dreamt it.

VLADIMIR:
Is it possible that you’ve forgotten already?

ESTRAGON:
That’s the way I am. Either I forget immediately or I never forget.

VLADIMIR:
And Pozzo and Lucky, have you forgotten them too?

ESTRAGON:
Pozzo and Lucky?

VLADIMIR:
He’s forgotten everything!

ESTRAGON:
I remember a lunatic who kicked the shins off me. Then he played the fool.

VLADIMIR:
That was Lucky.

ESTRAGON:
I remember that. But when was it?

VLADIMIR:
And his keeper, do you not remember him?

ESTRAGON:
He gave me a bone.

VLADIMIR:
That was Pozzo.

ESTRAGON:
And all that was yesterday, you say?

VLADIMIR:
Yes, of course it was yesterday.

ESTRAGON:
And here where we are now?

VLADIMIR:
Where else do you think? Do you not recognize the place?

ESTRAGON:
[
Suddenly
furious.
]
Recognize! What is there to recognize? All my lousy life I’ve crawled about in the
mud! And you talk to me about scenery! [
Looking
wildly
about
him.
]
Look at this muckheap! I’ve never stirred from it!

VLADIMIR:
Calm yourself, calm yourself.

ESTRAGON:
You and your landscapes! Tell me about the worms!

VLADIMIR:
All the same, you can’t tell me that this [
Gesture
] bears any resemblance to … [
He
hesitates
]
… to the Macon country, for example. You can’t deny there’s a big difference.

ESTRAGON:
The Macon country! Who’s talking to you about the Macon country?

VLADIMIR:
But you were there yourself, in the Macon country.

ESTRAGON:
No, I was never in the Macon country. I’ve puked my puke of a life away here, I tell
you! Here! In the Cackon country!

VLADIMIR:
But we were there together, I could swear to it! Picking grapes for a man called
… [
He
snaps
his
fingers
] … can’t think of the name of the man, at a place called … [
Snaps
his
fingers
]
…
can’t think of the name of the place, do you not remember?

ESTRAGON:
[
A
little
calmer.
]
It’s possible. I didn’t notice anything.

VLADIMIR:
But down there everything is red!

ESTRAGON:
[
Exasperated.
]
I didn’t notice anything, I tell you!

[
Silence. 
VLADIMIR
sighs
deeply.
]

VLADIMIR:
You’re a hard man to get on with, Gogo.

ESTRAGON:
It’d be better if we parted.

VLADIMIR:
You always say that, and you always come crawling back.

ESTRAGON:
The best thing would be to kill me, like the other.

VLADIMIR:
What other? [
Pause.
]
What other?

ESTRAGON:
Like billions of others.

VLADIMIR:
[
Sententious
.] To every man his little cross. [
He
sighs.
]
Till he dies. [
Afterthought.
]
And is forgotten.

ESTRAGON:
In the meantime let us try and converse calmly, since we are incapable of keeping
silent.

VLADIMIR:
You’re right, we’re inexhaustible.

ESTRAGON:
It’s so we won’t think.

VLADIMIR:
We have that excuse.

ESTRAGON:
It’s so we won’t hear.

VLADIMIR:
We have our reasons.

ESTRAGON:
All the dead voices.

VLADIMIR:
They make a noise like wings.

ESTRAGON:
Like leaves.

VLADIMIR:
Like sand.

ESTRAGON:
Like leaves.

[
Silence.
]

VLADIMIR:
They all speak together.

ESTRAGON:
Each one to itself.

[
Silence.
]

VLADIMIR:
Rather they whisper.

ESTRAGON:
They rustle.

VLADIMIR:
They murmur.

ESTRAGON:
They rustle.

[
Silence.
]

VLADIMIR:
What do they say?

ESTRAGON:
They talk about their lives.

VLADIMIR:
To have lived is not enough for them.

ESTRAGON:
They have to talk about it.

VLADIMIR:
To be dead is not enough for them.

ESTRAGON:
It is not sufficient.

[
Silence.
]

VLADIMIR:
They make a noise like feathers.

ESTRAGON:
Like leaves.

VLADIMIR:
Like ashes.

ESTRAGON:
Like leaves.

[
Long silence.
]

VLADIMIR:
Say something!

ESTRAGON:
I’m trying.

[
Long
silence.
]

VLADIMIR:
[
In
anguish.
]
Say anything at all!

ESTRAGON:
What do we do now?

VLADIMIR:
Wait for Godot.

ESTRAGON:
Ah!

[
Silence.
]

VLADIMIR:
This is awful!

ESTRAGON:
Sing something.

VLADIMIR:
No, no! [
He
reflects.
]
We could start all over again perhaps.

ESTRAGON:
That should be easy.

VLADIMIR:
It’s the start that’s difficult.

ESTRAGON:
You can start from anything.