Originally written in French and translated into English by Beckett, Endgame was given its first London performance at the Royal Court Theatre in 1957.

'Outside lies a world of death. Inside the room the blind, impervious Hamm sits in a wheelchair while his lame servant, Clov, scuttles about obeying his orders. Each depends fractiously on the other: Hamm alone knows the combination of the larder while Clov is his master's eyes and last remnant of human contact. The only other survivors are Hamm's legless parents, Nagg and Nell, who squat in dustbins upstage and die during the play.' Michael Billington, Guardian