A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Happy Days

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  1w, 1m

Samuel Beckett

In Beckett's critically acclaimed tragicomedy, a chipper and chatty woman – buried to the waist – prattles on as her nearly silent husband hovers nearby.

Happy Days

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1w, 1m
  • Suggested Use
    • Competition or audition material
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
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
Happy Days, written in 1960, premiered off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City on September 17, 1961. The production, directed by Alan Schneider, featured Ruth White and John C. Becher. The play was subsequently presented at London's Royal Court Theater on November 1, 1962. Directed by George Devine and Tony Richardson, the production featured Brenda Bruce and Peter Duguid.
Keywords
Performing Groups
WINNIE
WILLIE
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Cautions
    • Intense Adult Themes
    • Strong Language

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) youtube thumbnail

    Happy Days - Highlights (Mark Taper Forum)

  • Happy Days Trailer (Theatre for a New Audience) youtube thumbnail

    Happy Days Trailer (Theatre for a New Audience)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

Scripts

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Authors

Samuel Beckett

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 ...

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