Waiting for Godot

Waiting for Godot (/ˈɡɒdoʊ/ ^ⓘ GOD-oh or /ɡəˈdoʊ/ ^ⓘ gə-DOH) is a 1953 play by Irish writer and playwright Samuel Beckett, in which the two main characters, Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), engage in a variety of discussions and encounters while awaiting the titular Godot, who never arrives. Waiting for Godot is Beckett's reworking of his own original French-language play En attendant Godot, and is subtitled (in English only) "A tragicomedy in two acts." It is widely considered his finest work of literature and regarded by literary critics as one of the most enigmatic plays of the Modern era. In a public poll conducted by the British Royal National Theatre in the year 1998, Waiting for Godot was voted as "the most significant English-language play of the 20th century."

The original French text was composed between 9 October 1948 and 29 January 1949. The premiere, directed by Roger Blin, was on 5 January 1953 at the Théâtre de Babylone, Paris. The English-language version of the play premiered in London in 1955.