A SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. TITLE
Happy Days
Full-Length Play, Drama / 1w, 1m
In Beckett's critically acclaimed tragicomedy, a chipper and chatty woman – buried to the waist – prattles on as her nearly silent husband hovers nearby.
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Cast Size
1w, 1m -
Suggested Use
- Competition or Audition Material
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Target Audience
Adult
Accolades
Named among the "10 most influential postwar British plays" by The Guardian
Details
Summary
Samuel Beckett's critically acclaimed final play, essentially a two-hour tragicomic monologue, is a tour-de-force for a commanding actress. In an ambiguous setting, Winnie is embedded waist-deep, surrounded by a few familiar objects, including her purse and a gun. Seemingly oblivious of her predicament, she chats away as her taciturn husband hovers silently nearby. Resisting easy interpretation, Happy Days contemplaties themes of time, desperation, marriage, disappointment and personal responsibility.
History
Cast Attributes
Performing Groups
- Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
- Cautions
- Intense Adult Themes
Media
“Happy Days remains one of the most unsettling and unforgettable plays in the modern canon.” – The New York Times
“An unsettling glimpse into the existential abyss... In Happy Days, Beckett presents one of his most powerful emblems of the trap that human life can become.” – The New York Times
Videos
Happy Days - Highlights (Mark Taper Forum)
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Happy Days Trailer (Theatre for a New Audience)
Licensing & Materials
- Minimum Fee: £40 per performance plus VAT when applicable.
Please submit a license request to determine availability.
Authors
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) is widely recognized as one of the greatest dramatists of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969.
Mr. Beckett is most renowned for his play Waiting for Godot, which launched his career in theatre. He then went on to w ...