Before anything else, let’s get one thing out of the way. Happy Days is a prime example of ‘theatre of the absurd’.
This genre is generally concerned with existentialism. The human condition is depicted as meaningless and ridiculous, with the plays often circular in nature – finishing at their starting point.
Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days ticks all the main boxes for theatre of the absurd. There’s nothing here resembling a conventional plot. As such, it’s probably not a play that will appeal to a large cohort of theatregoers.
The play opens with Winnie (Pamela Rabe) buried waist-deep in a mound of earth under a blazing sun – where she stays for the duration. She is awakened by a piercing bell and begins her daily routine with a prayer.
Beside Winnie is a large black bag. She methodically removes items from it – a comb, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a bottle of medicine (or alcohol), lipstick, a nail file, a music box and a revolver.
While talking incessantly to herself, she brushes her teeth, puts on her hat and gets ready for the day ahead.
Winnie struggles to read the writing on her toothbrush and is slightly annoyed or bemused at various minor matters – but keeps up a happy countenance.
“Oh this is a happy day,” is one of her refrains.
While Winnie is a chatterbox, her husband Willie (who is initially obscured by the mound and only seen for short periods) is taciturn.
A laconic character, his function in Happy Days is someone for Winnie to talk at.
And boy, does Winnie talk. She doesn’t shut up throughout the one hour, 40 minute play. That, and the very few words uttered by Willie, mean Happy Days is essentially a very long monologue. It’s a huge task for an actor to talk non-stop for such a long period – and to keep things moving in a compelling way throughout – but Rabe, who’s rightly considered one of the greats of Australian theatre, is up to the task.
Winnie emerges in Act Two of this two-part play looking wilder and worse for wear.
She’s in exactly the same place but this time, buried up to her neck in the mound. Despite her impossible circumstances, which make it hard for her to even turn her head, she generally maintains her happy countenance (although there are periods of anxiety when Willie is out of earshot).
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Throughout the play, it is unclear whether Winnie’s happiness is genuine or if it’s a façade to help her cope with life.
The point of the play is also unclear, in an analogy to life itself. As in life, there’s no firm answer, but Happy Days seems to be pointing out that life is a slog, is full of various difficulties, that we can rarely see where we are – and the meaning of it all is anybody’s guess.
Staying happy is a way of coping with the uncertainty of life, without which we might go utterly mad.
But surely these concepts have occurred to anyone who thinks deeply about life? Although perhaps these ideas were less likely to be voiced openly in 1961, when the play debuted.
In any case, Happy Days, which was directed by Nick Schlieper (also the set and lighting designer) and Rabe herself, is technically accomplished. The lighting, sound and set are top-notch, as they are in most STC productions, and Rabe’s acting is faultless.
If you’re a fan of theatre of the absurd – or if the genre is new to you and you want to see a good example – this is the play for you.
Happy Days by Samuel Beckett
Wharf 1 Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company
Directors: Nick Schlieper and Pamela Rabe
Set and Lighting Designer: Nick Schlieper
Costume Designer: Mel Page
Sound Designer: Stefan Gregory
Assistant Director: Kenneth Moraleda
Voice and Text Director: Charmian Gradwell
Production Manager: Joe Fletcher
Deputy Production Manager: Julia Orlando
Stage Manager: Zoe Davis
Assistant Stage Manager: Chloe Langdon
Costume Coordinator: Sam Perkins
Hair, Wig and Wardrobe Supervisor; Costume Day Maintenance: Lauren A. Proietti
Lighting Supervisor: Amy Robertson
Lighting Programmer: Corinne Fish
Lighting Operator: Oscar de Gruchy
Sound Supervisor: Hayley Forward
Sound Operator: Ben Andrews
Set Construction Supervisor: Boaz Shemesh
Props Supervisor: Emily Adinolfi
Scenic Art Supervisor: Ron Thiessen
Staging Supervisor: David Tongs
Mechanist: Oscar Broadhead
Cast: Markus Hamilton and Pamela Rabe
Tickets: $60 – $125
Happy Days will be performed until 15 June 2025.
