PORTSMOUTH – Samuel Beckett’s iconic and unexpectedly hilarious “Waiting for Godot” opens the Players’ Ring Theatre’s 2025-26 Mainstage Theatre on Sept. 12, running through Sept. 28. Directed by Bretton Reis, who also plays one of the main characters, the play brings bold new staging, drawing out its wit and deep humanity.

Two wanderers, Reis (as Vladimir), and Michael Towle (as Estragon), wait beneath a barren tree for something or someone which may never come. As time stretches and their conversations spiral, absurdity meets poetry, and the very act of waiting becomes both heartbreak and hilarity.

“Choosing the play that opens our season is always a challenge – it has to feel like a celebration, a reminder that the Ring is back after the summer, and in our experience, it needs a title with some notoriety to draw audiences – old and new – in,” said the Ring’s Executive Director Margherita Giacobbi.
 
“At the same time, it must reflect our signature mix of entertainment and reflection,” she added. “’Waiting for Godot’ is one of the most iconic plays of the 20th century – a work everyone has heard of, one that belongs on any theatre-lover’s bucket list – yet it perfectly matches our quirky, thought-provoking exploration of human nature. We are especially fortunate to have Bretton Reis, a true connoisseur of absurdist theatre, bringing this piece to life with an extraordinary team. It’s exactly the kind of opening that makes us proud to be the Ring.” 
 
Reis said that while he didn’t pitch the play, the Ring was looking to produce it and Giacobbi approached him about directing it. 
 
“Thank goodness she did; I would have been incredibly jealous otherwise,” he said. “That said, I don't think there is a bad time to produce what is perhaps the most influential play of the last 400 years.”
 
Reis said he was drawn to absurdism enough to spend countless hours researching it for his Masters dissertation. 
 
“It feels like I read every single scholarly article ever written in English on ‘Godot’,” he said. “There is surely enough out there to make your head spin. Ultimately, I examined the motifs and devices that Beckett and Ionesco developed and how those elements found their way to contemporary plays. Overall, I love the journey of discovery that Absurdism provides. I relish its humor. It's thrilling to look into a bottomless pit of meaning”
 
Reis said the play is more relevant than ever to current audiences.
 
“It has become increasingly difficult to agree upon an objective truth, if there even is one,” he said. 
 
“The world of ‘Godot’ is amorphous; it lacks unity of time, space, and character. Language falls apart. If you ask any two audience members what happens in the play, I guarantee you will get two different answers. I'd say that the most important question the play asks is, ‘What do you do in the face of big, banal, existential evil?  How do you hope when it seems the world is exploding all around you?” 

Reis added that his bar is set at: engage with the play. 
 
“There are too many possible takeaways to hope for a particular one,” he said. “We will be doing all we can to meld the world of ‘Godot’ with the little world of the Ring. Indeed, that desire to engage guided all of our design decisions.”
 
Reis had great praise for the cast of “Godot.”
 
“Michael (Towle), Matt (Schofield), and Jimmy (Stewart) are consummate professionals,” he said. “If you've been to the Ring before, you've probably seen them turning in an incredible performance. Caruso (Tucker) is a bright, uber-talented student here in Portsmouth making his Ring debut”
 
He also credited Constance Witman for stepping in as Assistant Director.
 
“I can tell you that once I'm in a scene as Didi (Vladimir), being a director falls away. Constance’s outside eyes are invaluable,” he said.
 
The creative team also includes Justin Lahue, set design; Ben Bagley, sound design; Constance Witman, costume design and Gina Bowker, production stage manager.

Shonni Holmes, chair of the Board Artistic Committee, said “Waiting for Godot” sets the tone for a season of rich, powerful, and relevant storytelling that she’s thrilled to have been a part of crafting. 
 
“This classic, absurdist comedy is incredibly timely and thought-provoking – even in all of its “nothingness,” she said. “And inside the Ring, audiences will be enveloped by the awkward warmth of this tragic and hilarious story and forced to reflect on the depth and necessity of their own hopefulness in a bleak world.”
 
The Ring’s neighbor, The Puddle Dock restaurant, and its sister restaurant “Tour” on Lafayette Road, are both offering a 10% discount on food to Players’ Ring patrons. Visit their websites to reserve, and present your ticket when you ask for your check.
 
The Players’ Ring is grateful for the support of its sponsors. Patrons of the Arts: The Eppes-Jefferson Foundation, Tour Restaurant, The Puddle Dock Restaurant, RAKA Creative. Supporters: Business Cents, City of Portsmouth Recreation Department, Dowling HVAC, Port City Makerspace. Media Partners: Portsmouthnh.com and Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth. 
 
 
Go & Do
“Waiting for Godot,” written by Samuel Beckett and directed by Bretton Reis
Where: The Players’ Ring Theatre, 105 Marcy Street, Portsmouth NH
               Phone: 603-436-8123
When: Sept. 12 – Sept. 28. Thursdays at 7 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.
Cost: General Admission: $32; Students / Seniors (65+): $29; Military / First Responders: $29.
This play is included in the Ring’s subscription packages. Visit www.playersring.org for more information and to purchase tickets.
 

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