Experience rating: 9/10

By Shomit Dutta

Directed by Guy Unsworth

Venue: Hampstead Downstairs

Date: Saturday 15th July 2023

          What a lovely little gem this piece is, putting both Beckett and Pinter through some of the torments, pauses and repetitions their characters had to endure, most notably in Waiting for Godot and The Dumb Waiter. The performances were excellent, and the writing captured their styles and connected playwriting themes brilliantly, with the humour working well with or without any specialist knowledge. We’ve seen work by both writers, of course, but while we both love Pinter’s style, we find Beckett less interesting. Not a problem in this play: we could happily see it again, and although some of the references to other works may have escaped us, our years-long dedication to playgoing stood us in good stead overall.