While They Were Waiting ★★★

“Waiting is a universal human experience embedded in both the mundane and profound moments of life.”

A resounding “Hear! Hear!” in response to Mr Gary Wilmott since his script offers tedium to the point of wanting to disengage and snooze yet manages to deliver heightened moments of pure emotional intensity. Therein lies the most irritating aspect: the play is touching and warm and beautiful as well as exasperating. Is this intentional…?

As annoying as Bix’s buffoonery is to Mulberry’s acerbic wit, the writing is an homage to the Theatre of the Absurd, in which the initial onslaught of verbal witticisms, quips, puns, wordplay and clichés will either delight or make one wish for the 90-minute two-hander to be over as soon as possible.

The quintessential Englishman, dressed in a brown tweed three-piece suit and pork-pie hat, Mulberry (Steve Furst), arrives at the mysterious yellow door, rings the doorbell and is happy to sit on the garden bench, basking in the sunlight, waiting for a response. By his own admission, he is a loner and proud of it. He describes waiting as a hobby which brings him much happiness. He is much irked by Bix’s (Wilmot) unexpected arrival and total disregard of Mulberry’s wish for peace and quiet. Bix, in his unmatched and crumpled linen clothing, has a naive, disarming charm; ostensibly oblivious to social nuances, he verbally chunders and engages Mulberry in wordplay and existential discussions, which usually positions Bix on the receiving end of his counterpart’s superior wit and intelligence, with Mulberry verbally treading on Bix’s simplicity, or so it seems…

Despite being the fall guy to Mulberry’s belligerent outpourings, Bix is always kind and respectful. Their initial meeting is reminiscent of good old English manners, with Bix addressing Mulberry as ‘Sir’ until he gets to know Mulberry’s name (for which he had to engage in a nonsensical word battle).

It baffles and annoys Mulberry that despite their differences, a growing and profound bond develops between them as they explore philosophy: when is a sausage not a sausage? The ability to be in two places at the same time. The difference between ‘in’ and ‘through’. Whilst they wait for the mysterious yellow door to be answered, they begin to contemplate what’s behind it, rather than who…

They ponder the symbolism of its colour, agreeing that yellow represents opportunity and whether a door should be a wall if it’s to be ‘’kept closed at all times.’’

As this one-act play moves on, the comic absurdities evaporate significantly, and the two eccentric characters concur that life involves a lot of waiting, much of which is enforced; yet waiting, particularly in a fast-paced, news-intense world, has an increasing value that has interchange and agency: ‘In taking your time, you’re also taking my time.’ There are poignant moments in which Mulberry reveals the reason he is waiting patiently at the yellow door and Bix reads his penned ‘Ode To a Friend’. There is definitely light and shade in the play, and Sydney Stevenson, as director, did a good job in steering and revealing who and what Bix and Mulberry become to each other.

The play’s strengths are undoubtedly the chemistry between Wilmot and Furst; it is instantaneous and endures throughout the piece. The pace of their characters’ banter and their endearing relationship overcomes the shortfalls of the script. The 90 minutes of waiting becomes bearable.

There is a strong sense of the content being a collection of Wilmot’s random musings and experiences. It is quirky, and the Vaudevillian slapstick humour is never too far away. On occasion, though, the wordplay felt somewhat self-congratulatory in its cleverness, which is unnecessary because the piece is deep, particularly where the themes give one pause for thought; even the day after seeing the show, the contemplations continue.

In terms of writing styles, Beckett, Pinter, Bowen, and Ionesco are and always will be the masters. The name Mulberry is smart: going round and round the bush of life until such time… It’s very much a trope of Theatre of the Absurd, and Wilmott picks up some of the nuances in his debut piece. It is hoped he will play around with his writing style and craft it a little more because he clearly knows what is profound, precious and absurd. He definitely has something. There’s a lot of affection for Gary. However, at times, the dialogue content feels like watching your father dancing at a wedding reception; you’re glad they’re having a good time but secretly wish they’d stop. That is purely due to the script.

While They Were Waiting is a tribute to the genre rather than a standalone, exceptional piece.

Special mention to the set design, which was beautiful in its simplicity. Hannah Danson is to be congratulated for bringing the sense of sunshine, outdoors, the billowing clouds, and tropical locations to a lovely upstairs space in Highgate. You’ll understand why it was made that way: all you have to do is watch and wait….