Review: While They Were Waiting, Upstairs at the Gatehouse

‘While They Were Waiting’ is the playwriting debut of veteran entertainer Gary Wilmot, best known for his work presenting children’s TV shows in the 1980s and performing myriad roles across the West End. A clever, funny and sentimental two-hander, ‘While They Were Waiting’ explores the value of companionship and riffs on the art of waiting as an essential part of the human condition. Whilst Wilmot has denied that the work draws any inspiration from Samuel Beckett’s renowned ‘Waiting for Godot’, this absurdist, yearningly philosophical drama will inevitably draw comparisons with its 1950s predecessor.   

The piece opens as Mulberry (Steve Furst), sharply dressed in a three-piece suit and trilby hat, arrives at a big yellow door. Receiving no response when he presses the doorbell, Mulberry settles himself contentedly on a nearby bench and resolves to wait. Yet his peace is soon shattered by the arrival of rumpled, cheerful Bix, whose inquisitive discourse sparks an unlikely friendship. 

Steve Furst in While They Were Waiting. Image credit by Simon Jackson).

What follows is 90 minutes of quasi-philosophical and wide-ranging conversation covering everything from Mulberry and Bix’s understanding of death to a laborious, pun-heavy exchange about sausage sandwiches. At its best, the dialogue is punchy and fast-paced. There are points, however, where Wilmot adopts a scattergun approach to writing, shoe-horning in clownish comments and slapstick humour in pursuit of a cheap laugh.

Yet where the script falls short the production is carried by the performances of Wilmot and Furst. The pair have acted together before, a relationship evident in the easy intimacy and comic timing they share. Each actor draws out his character’s essential elements: Bix is carefree and cheeky, a counterpoint to Furst’s pedantic and contrary Mulberry. Whilst Mulberry is initially frustrated when his peace is disturbed, Bix’s obliviousness and cheerful persistence wears him down.

15. Gary Wilmot and Steve Furst in While They Were Waiting. Image credit by Simon Jackson)

Hannah Danson’s set design is simple but effective. She creates a liminal space for the two protagonists, dominated by the imposing presence of the big yellow door. The deliberate ambiguity of time or location lends itself well to the metatheatrical elements of the performance, as the actors tease breaking the fourth wall. Wilmot’s metatheatre is what ultimately pulls the play back from teetering into a fluff – just when the audience expects a fairytale resolution, we are rewarded with a surprising encore.

‘While They Were Waiting’ is a clever, engaging production that relishes in the obvious enjoyment of its playwright. Whilst Wilmot’s script is at points heavy-handed, it is carried by strong characterisation and a relationship between its two protagonists that is a joy to watch.

While They Were Waiting is showing at Upstairs at the Gatehouse until 22 March 2026. Find out more and book tickets here.

 Review by Ellen Hodgetts