Overview

We Happy Few follows a seven-woman amateur troupe as it travels the country's schools and village greens during the Second World War playing a repertoire of Shakespeare and other classics. Disasters happen, triumphs occur, but above all the show must go on...We Happy Few is frequently hilarious, often touching, but above all it has that 'lump-in-the-throat' quality, the laughter through tears that the British specialise in. Most notable recent example: Calendar Girls! Imogen Stubbs, herself an acclaimed Shakespearean actress, says of the woman who founded and led the company: 'Her chief weapons were a dogged determination, a courageous heart - and Shakespeare. Her passion, and the passion she instilled in those around her, had a tremendous effect on thousands of young people - Judi Dench included, to name but one.' We Happy Few is due to open in the West End in a production directed by Trevor Nunn, following a successful tryout in Malvern in November 2003. Casting and dates have yet to be decided.