WITS END
LAUGHTER AMID BLEAKNESS BY CHRIS THURMAN
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othing is funnier than unhappiness,” observes a character in Samuel Beckett’s play Endgame, “I grant you that. Yes, yes, it’s the most comical thing in the world.” Beckett was a master of grim humour, of finding laughter amid bleakness – or should that be laughter at bleakness? It’s an important distinction. One implies compassion, optimism, comfort and camaraderie; the other suggests indifference, vindictiveness, meanness and the end of hope. Endgame and its better-known precursor, Waiting for Godot, were products of a particular historical Apr il 2021 95
