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COMPANY B BELVOIR PRESENTS A MALTHOUSE MELBOURNE
PRODUCTION OF
HAPPY DAYS
BY SAMUEL BECKETT
DIRECTED BY MICHAEL KANTOR
SEASON DATES: 7 NOVEMBER – 16 DECEMBER 2009
BELVOIR ST THEATRE
SET DESIGN: ANNA CORDINGLEY
LIGHTING DESIGN: PAUL JACKSON
SOUND DESIGN: RUSSELL GOLDSMITH
WITH: JULIE FORSYTH & PETER CARROLL
‘This is a great performance of a great play by two of our great actors. Not to be missed.’
The Australian
Samuel Beckett’s absurdist comedy Happy Days is set to hit the Belvoir St stage this November. In this
new production, Julie Forsyth takes centre stage as Winnie, one of the most surprising and extraordinary
female roles invented by a playwright. Peter Carroll plays her long-suffering husband Willie.
Half-buried in a mound of earth, with a husband half buried in his newspaper, Winnie has only her handbag and its contents to divert her while the sun beats down relentlessly. Occasionally things get too
much, but her eternal optimism wins every time. Although she keeps a revolver in reach, Winnie’s days
are nearly all happy days.
Best known for his epic drama Waiting for Godot, Beckett wrote Happy Days in London in 1961. In it, he
explores the paradoxes of Winnie’s life – her eternal happiness coupled with her slow demise into the
earth, her endless chatter compared with Willie’s monosyllabic responses and the strangeness of the
situation in which she finds herself, contrasted with the practicalities of her daily life. Julie Forsyth shines
in this role as a tour de force of tragic clowning – previously seen at the Belvoir St Theatre with Small
Poppies (2000). Company B is delighted to welcome Julie back, after previous acclaimed performances in
Neil Armfield’s production of Cloudstreet (2001) and Michael Kantor’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle (1998).
This production, directed by Michael Kantor, comes to Sydney following its successful season at
Malthouse Melbourne. He said, ‘I have long been intrigued by Happy Days, and am particularly drawn to
the character of Winnie because of her endless optimism. It poses a relevant question for contemporary
audiences - ‘how can we remain positive when so much around us indicates we shouldn’t be?’’
SEASON DATES
Season dates 7 November – 16 December 2009
Previews 4 & 5 November. All preview tickets $34
Opening night 6 November
Backstage Q&A 9 December, 6pm
Times Tuesday 6.30pm, Wednesday to Friday 8pm, Saturday 2pm & 8pm, Sunday 5pm.
Tickets Full $56. Seniors (excluding Fri/Sat evenings) and Groups 10+ $46. Concession $34
Student Rush $25 for Tuesday 6.30pm and Saturday 2pm, available from 10am on the day (subject to
availability)
Venue Belvoir St Theatre, 25 Belvoir St, Surry Hills
TICKETS BOOKINGS 9699 3444 or www.belvoir.com.au |
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