Lucian Msamati, star of Gangs of London, has returned to the stage alongside Ben Whishaw in a 2024 production of Samuel Beckett’s masterpiece, Waiting for Godot. In a diary of the first preview, he describes the moments before stepping on stage and the thrill of performing again after a five-year absence.
Msamati recalls the pre-show atmosphere backstage: the hum of a packed audience, the sight of Whishaw in full costume, and the adrenaline-fuelled embrace they shared. ‘My breathing is steady, but my heart is pump-pump-pumping,’ he writes. ‘This is as close as I get to full-on nervous. I am not afraid though. It’s excitement; anticipation; a sexy, knowing thrill.’
As the call came from deputy stage manager Sophie Rubenstein – ‘That’s front of house clearance, guys’ – Msamati felt a surge of terror. The pair held hands in the dark before stepping onto the platform. Once the curtain rose and the platform rotated, they launched into their first lines with the ‘tight, pumped punch of seasoned pros back in the game’.
During the performance, an unexpected laugh from the audience caught Msamati off guard. When Whishaw’s Vladimir delivered the line ‘… we should have thought of it a million years ago, in the 90s’, Msamati’s response – ‘Ah stop blathering …’ – was met with raucous laughter. ‘I’m totally thrown. I never thought the line was especially funny,’ he admits, but he quickly autocorrected and delivered the full line as written.
Msamati also praised his fellow cast members, Jonathan Slinger (Pozzo) and Tom Edden (Lucky), whose entrance brought a sense of relief. He noted Slinger’s calm, effortless performance, particularly when he earned an extra laugh by muttering ‘Hmm, see?’ after the audience laughed at his line about laughter. ‘The crowd roars hysterically once more,’ Msamati writes.
