Les Éditions de Minuit in the context of "Waiting for Godot"

Waiting for Godot (/ˈɡɒdoʊ/ GOD-oh or /ɡəˈdoʊ/ gə-DOH) is a tragicomedy play by Irish playwright and writer Samuel Beckett, first published in 1952 by Les Éditions de Minuit. It is Beckett's reworking of his own original French-language play titled En attendant Godot, and is subtitled in English as "A tragicomedy in two acts." The play revolves around the mannerisms of the two main characters, Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), who engage in a variety of thoughts, dialogues and encounters while awaiting the titular Godot, who never arrives. It is Beckett's best-known literary work and is regarded by critics as "one of the most enigmatic plays of modern literature". In a poll conducted by London's Royal National Theatre in the year 1998, Waiting for Godot was voted as "the most significant English-language play of the 20th century."

The original French text was composed between 9 October 1948 and 29 January 1949. The premiere, directed by Roger Blin, was performed at the Théâtre de Babylone [fr], Paris, in January 1953. The English-language version of the play premiered in London in 1955. Though there is only one scene throughout both acts, the play is known for its numerous themes, including those relating to religious, philosophical, classical, social, psychoanalytical, and biographical settings. Beckett later stated that the painting Two Men Contemplating the Moon (1819), by Caspar David Friedrich, was a major inspiration for the play.