Short answers, pulled from the story.
Waiting for Godot had its world premiere on the 5th of January 1953 at the Theatre de Babylone in Paris, directed by Roger Blin. The English-language premiere followed on the 3rd of August 1955 at the Arts Theatre in London, directed by Peter Hall.
Waiting for Godot was written by Irish author Samuel Beckett. He composed the original text in French, under the title En attendant Godot, between the 9th of October 1948 and the 29th of January 1949, and later produced the English adaptation himself.
Beckett consistently refused to assign a fixed meaning to Godot, stating that if he had meant God he would have said God. He acknowledged that the name carries meanings he may not have consciously intended, and said the play "tries not to be able to be defined." Interpretations include God, salvation, hope, the superego, and geopolitical power.
In a poll conducted by London's Royal National Theatre in 1998, Waiting for Godot was voted the most significant English-language play of the twentieth century. Critics regard it as one of the most enigmatic plays of modern literature, notable for its minimal staging, philosophical depth, and openness to multiple interpretations.
In 1957, Herbert Blau staged Waiting for Godot for approximately 1,400 inmates at San Quentin State Prison in California. The performance had a profound effect on the prisoners, who formed a drama group and went on to produce seven of Beckett's works. Former prisoner Rick Cluchey received years of financial and moral support from Beckett and played Vladimir in two productions in the prison's former Gallows room.
Beckett actively opposed female productions of Waiting for Godot. When De Haarlemse Toneelschuur staged an all-female production in 1988, he sued and then banned all productions of his plays in the Netherlands. Two years after Beckett's death, a French judge ruled in 1991 that an all-female cast would not excessively damage his legacy, and a court in Rome ruled similarly in 2006.