Endgame, or the Importance of Having Two Windows
Léa Fochesato
Let’s rewind a week before lockdown, shall we? Monday 9th March 2020 evening when I sit among strangers in a weird mindset. The coronavirus outbreak is there and it is only a matter of days before we get put in lockdown. We know it and we all look at each other between gratefulness of being here and sharing a piece of theatre together and the fear of a wild feverish dry cough popping up out of the blue.
Anyway, The Old Vic Theatre is probably my favourite theatre in the world. The feeling I have when I face its stage is always so special, I really cherish it. Even that night. We’re watching a double bill, Rough For Theatre II and Endgame, both by the great Samuel Beckett, directed by Richard Jones, and both staring Alan Cumming and Daniel Radcliffe. What a bill!
At the time, I really enjoyed both plays, with two very functional and accurate set designs and a magnificent cast interpretation that got the sarcastic tone I hoped it’d take. Full of that dark humour and nihilist thinking that Beckett is so famous for, it really spoke to me on that day. What I didn’t know, however, was what it was teaching me for our very near future, a.k.a. our present lockdown.
Your body talks.
I entered in self-isolation and lockdown situation from the next Monday. There I started to understand why Hamm was stuck in his armchair and Clov always standing. I wanted to do nothing but sitting or lying down at first, depressed. Then, my body started craving a walk and some standing action. I started a fitness routine and my body calmed down. I would not be stuck in either position, standing or sitting eternally, if I could alternate them, right? Listening to my body was the first lesson.
Routine and breaking the circle.
As Clov opens the play with ‘Finished, it's finished, nearly finished, it must be nearly finished’ and as Hamm proclaims ‘You... remain.’ at the end, in this production, directly to Clov, the whole thing becomes an endless circle. And it certainly could feel like this in lockdown. Slowly, it became important to start a routine. Where Hamm, Clov, Nell and Nagg got a simple old fashioned alarm clock, we have plenty of clocks all around us with our watches, phones and computers. And as soon as I got my alarms set up and a routine going on well, I broke it to avoid that circle. That’s the second lesson.
Zoom on your social life.
No one in the Endgame household has any contact with the outside world. They’re not even sure if there’s such a thing as an outside world anymore. However, they all interact with one another. Sometimes motivated by a social interaction like Hamm or Nagg telling their stories to the others, they also crave some time alone and do not want to see any of the others, as Clov makes it very clear. Zoom, Skype and every other app we use are great to keep in touch. When it’s a choice and not a burden, a chore. At that time, I use the mute button and deal with my feelings first. Third lesson.
Keeping the mind busy.
Speaking of dealing with feelings, meditation is a great activity to practice during that time. Some people keep busy through work, of course, but when you can’t you have to find something. And something, Endgame gave me one: write. About anything. Nothing. Everything. Just write and see where it goes. Hamm is fascinating when he ‘writes’ in the air a story that seems to be his and Clov’s. So I did. Fourth lesson.
Feeding soul and body.
Now that I’ve meditated, I need to eat. And food is my favourite thing ever. When it’s tempting to try and overfill the pantry, Endgame definitely gave me the advice not to do so. The danger is outside for them too, but we know what’s happening when they don’t. They do not have any biscuit very early that day! And that’s horrible, right?! Or is it every day Clov pretends this to keep an eye on the stock? In doubt, I keep an eye on my stock and never overfill. Fifth.
Looking by the windows
At some point, Clov says something about someone being outside. He’s looking for Hamm and describes what’s happening (nothing). I do that too, seeing people getting about. Is it important? Yes. It allows me to see the world is not (too) chaotic (yet). And it’s just nice to wave to people sometimes. Now, the other important thing is that they have two windows. Sea and earth. And even if Clov knows exactly what he’s going to see, it taught me how good it was to be able to change the landscape and the perspective going from one window to the other. And that’s the sixth.
Again, Clov said ‘Finished, it's finished, nearly finished, it must be nearly finished’. This piece is about to. The lockdown too. Even if we don’t know when, even if we don’t know what’s going to happen and how we’re going to live with it, the lockdown and the outbreak are going to end. The last lesson, ironically, is hope, and it is the most precious of all.