What’s it all about?
Bear with me; it’s about Winnie, who begins the evening buried up to her waist and becomes increasingly more entombed, and how she passes the time. Yep, that’s it.
Except it’s not, is it? It’s about existence, companionship, acknowledgement, loneliness, anguish, death, memory and a hundred other facets of life.
Who’s in it?
Juliet Stevenson, who was buried under a pile of acclaim when the production was first staged last year, returns as the fossilising Winnie. She gives a monumental performance.
With, at the most, her torso to work with, Stevenson brings an energetic joyfulness to Winnie, a seemingly unbreakable spirit that, in the end, breaks to expose pent-up anger, anguish and fear.
David Beames as her barely seen husband – more base than the bottom of an uncouth cheesecake – provides the perfect comic foil with little more than grunts and barely seen movement.
What should I watch out for?
Vicki Mortimer’s striking set that thrusts into the Young Vic auditorium like the rubbly foot of a rock giant.
Stevenson’s balletic hands that dance gracefully, expressively and mesmerisingly throughout the play’s first half.
The unsullied remembered joy and unconstrained potential of unlimited possibilities conjured by Stevenson’s delivery of the line “That day”. Both heart-warming and heart-breaking.
In a nutshell?
A mesmeric Juliet Stevenson gives a superlative performance in Beckett’s bonkers drama.
What’s being said on Twitter?
@hellobee Still lost in thought over Happy Days at @youngvictheatre last night. It was completely haunting, uncomfortable, powerful & all the emotions
@aidan1564 If you want an evening you will never forget see the magnificent Juliet Stevenson @youngvictheatre #HappyDays. Never miss great theatre.
Will I like it?
As I left the Young Vic I heard the utterance “That was bloody crazy.” It’s hard to argue. But with the craziness comes a bleak and beautiful, painful and pleasurable delve into what it is to be human. There’s also one of the most striking and impressive feats of performance you’re likely to see this year. If you’re unafraid of metaphor, fancy a brain workout and embrace the bonkers, this is for you.
Happy Days plays at the Young Vic until 21 March. You can book tickets through the theatre’s website.
Previous First Night Feature written by Kate Stanbury when the production played at the Young Vic in 2014:
Following the press night of The Weir, actress Dervla Kirwan expressed her concern about the lack of major female roles in theatre. One playwright who can’t be held responsible for this is Samuel Beckett, whose work has provided the material for two powerhouse female performances in Theatreland this month.
Lisa Dwan has already wowed audiences so much at the Royal Court that she’s earned Not I/Footfalls/Rockaby a West End transfer at the Duchess Theatre. Now it’s the turn of Juliet Stevenson, who takes on the role of Winnie in the Young Vic’s production of Happy Days.
Winnie is buried up to her waist in pebbles and sand, the heat of the burning sun beating down on her. It’s a situation that would bring most of us a great deal of despair and sadness. But not Winnie. Winnie is defiant and faces the mound that encases her with an even bigger heap of optimism.
She muses over perspiration, finds solace in everyday objects and passes the daylight hours by questioning her own grammar. Catching sight of a fornicating emmet constitutes the highlight of her day. A happy day.
While David Beames makes the odd appearance as her husband Willie, this is effectively a one-woman show that allows Stevenson to shine at its heart. The actress may be immobile but that doesn’t restrict the boundless energy she gives to her performance as Beckett’s determined heroine. Her incessant high-pitched chattering more than compensates for the production’s lack of physical movement, which in the second half becomes restricted to wild and impassioned head nodding.
Director Natalie Abrahami brings together a number of well-managed elements to create a production with a wealth of visual splendour. Vicki Mortimer’s striking design sees Stevenson’s form dwarfed by the expanse of barren rocky ground surrounding her, while Paule Constable’s vivid lighting and the deafening blasts courtesy of Tom Gibbons add moments of surprise that some audience members aren’t always prepared for.
But most importantly, these elements draw the focus back to Stevenson, who gives an unforgettable performance as a remarkable character that makes you think, maybe the cast of Spamalot are right, maybe you should always look on the bright side of life.