Happy Days

Overview

Michael Kantor, Artistic Director of Melbourne's Malthouse Theatre, has a thing or two to say about the power of positive thinking. Alongside his production of Happy Days, he has also directed and toured a reworking of Voltaire's Candide, now titled Optimism, which will make an appearance during the Sydney Festival this January.

Both plays question the strength of an optimism stubbornly clung to, despite the obvious truth that there's nothing to be happy about. Samuel Beckett's Happy Days is an extreme scenario of hard times: Winnie, performed wonderfully by Julie Forsyth, is buried up to her waist in a desolate, black mound and constantly tormented by a relentless light and screeching alarm. Her imbecilic husband, Willie (Peter Carroll) lives a subterranean life, only popping up long enough to receive the occasional head injury from Winnie's flung rubbish.

Yet, in spite of this grim existence, Winnie peps herself up with a rambling, feel-good mantra that would make Hyacinth Bucket appear self-loathing. It is only in the bleaker second act, when Winnie is buried up to her head, that her facade begins to crack and fracture into a sporadic despair.

Kantor has put together an excellent production; the two roles are
expertly crafted and performed, especially Forsyth's depiction of a
manic woman just managing to keep it together under ludicrous pressure.
Anna Cordingley's gift-box set unfurls menacingly at the opening of
each act to reveal a scorched pile of rubble, which Paul Jackson's
lighting design paints with an impressive array of moods. Entering as
Winnie's sonic torturer is a ferocious series of alarms, drones and
mechanical clanks conjured by sound designer Russell Goldsmith.

However, Beckett's play goes a step beyond presenting a scenario; his
language and set-up are such that the audience is drawn into a sense of
futility and ennui. For two hours Winnie rambles without plot â€"
illustrating an intricate character study, yes, but one that we've all
encountered as the neurotic, attention vampire at parties and functions
across the globe. Willie's final struggles towards his wife are a
physical manifestation of our collective enervation. He tries in vain
to reach his wife, to reach a satisfying end point, and yet his efforts
are cut short by the cruelty of the stage.

There is an audience that will enjoy this show, and I certainly
recommend this production to them. Those who are prone to falling
asleep at the theatre, however, will find these two hours very
difficult.

Photo by Jeff Busby
Video from Beckett on Film. Directed by Patricia Rozema. Copyright Blue Angel Films Ltd
https://youtube.com/watch?v=LpHQPAzJJGA