When Waiting for Godot appeared on the West End stage half a century ago, few would have predicted that it would catch on.

Samuel Beckett’s play about a pair of men doing nothing for two hours was a runaway hit in continental Europe, but The Times reviewer questioned whether it was even a play.

But the arrival of Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in the leading roles has ensured that the latest production was a West End hit even before it opened. The box office at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, has taken £2.4 million — a record advance for the theatre — and people are queuing outside from 6am for discounted tickets.

The appeal of McKellen and Stewart in the roles of Vladimir and Estragon has created a thriving trade on auction websites. Stalls tickets, worth £47.50, have changed hands for double their cover price on eBay and Viagogo, and tickets for Saturday night are being offered for £125 on Seatwave. The run has been extended in London after a sell-out tour of eight provincial theatres.

The actors are the latest stars to return to the West End after making their breakthrough in Hollywood, giving a boost to theatres as the recession begins to bite. McKellen is known around the world for his portrayal of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings films, and Stewart became a household name as the leading man in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The pair also appeared together as Magneto and Professor X in the X-Men films.

Jude Law also returns to the stage for the first time in seven years this summer when he appears as Hamlet at the Donmar Warehouse. Tickets with a cover price of £25 are being offered for £275 each. The same theatre has sold out all but Sunday performances of Madame de Sade, starring Dame Judi Dench, and a pair of tickets, worth £65, are on sale for £132.

Star actors have assumed such importance in the West End that Sir Jonathan Miller complained last year that some producers regarded them as a requirement. He said he was unable to transfer two productions to London, despite rave reviews, because he had not cast celebrities. “Producers might have been swayed if I’d been prepared to put in for more luminous names,” he said of his production of Hamlet. “But I wanted my original cast, who were absolutely first class.” The flow of American actors taking West End roles has abated recently, but Ethan Hawke will travel to London this summer to appear in The Cherry Orchard at the Old Vic. The musical Chicago has also continued its knack for attracting celebrity cast members. Jerry Springer will take over the role of Billy Flynn next month.

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