We invite original, unpublished essays (maximum 5,000 words) for an upcoming Worldview Critical Companion to Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. This volume aims to serve as both a scholarly resource and a generative site of contemporary dialogue on one of the most significant dramatic works of the twentieth century. Contributors are encouraged to revisit canonical readings while also offering new, boundary-pushing approaches that open Godot to current critical, theoretical, and performative discourses.
All submissions must adhere to the MLA citation style (current edition). Interviews with directors and practitioners of Godot worldwide are also welcome, provided they are accompanied by a critical framing of the production or its cultural context.
Possible Areas of Inquiry (including but not limited to):
Canonical and Established Readings
*Existentialism, absurdism, and the theatre of the absurd
*Religious, biblical, and philosophical allegories
*Global stagings: Godot in translation and transnational contexts
*Censorship, reception, and audience response
*Interviews with directors, actors, and dramaturgs
*Godot in prison theatres, refugee camps, or protest performances
*Gendered readings and non-traditional casting practices
*Ecocriticism and environmental readings of stasis and space
*Affect theory and melancholia in Godot
*Queer temporality and waiting as a queer condition
*Disability studies and the aesthetics of immobility
*Beckett and speculative realism or object-oriented ontology
*Beckett in virtual theatre and livestream formats
*VR/AR experiments with Godot and spatial dramaturgy
*AI-generated performances and algorithmic interpretations
*Godot in graphic novels, animation, or other visual reimaginings
*Waiting for Godot and Eastern philosophies (e.g., Buddhist, Taoist non-action)
*Influence on and from global dramatic traditions
*Godot and the aesthetics of delay in contemporary literature or cinema
*Beckett and other absurdist/postdramatic authors
*Intersections with Kafka, Ionesco, Pinter, or Müller
*Abstracts of 300-400 words along with a short bio (100-150 words) should be submitted by: 30 September, 2025
*Final accepted essays should be between 4,000-5,000 words
*All contributions must follow the MLA (current edition) format
Read more on call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu
