Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Happy Days



  



Happy Days is a play in two acts, written in English, by Samuel Beckett. He began the play on 8 October 1960 and it was completed on 14 May 1961. Beckett finished the translation into French by November 1962 but amended the title. “In a moment of inspiration, he borrowed the title Oh les beaux jours, from Verlaine’s poem, ‘Colloque sentimental’”.

Cyril Cusack claimed that Happy Days was, by Beckett’s own admission, ‘influenced’ by his wife, Maureen Cusack’s request that he ‘write a happy play’ after Krapp.

He said: “Well I thought that the most dreadful thing that could happen to anybody, would be not to be allowed to sleep so that just as you’re dropping off there’s be a ‘Dong’ and you’d have to keep awake; you’re sinking into the ground alive and it’s full of ants; and the sun is shining endlessly day and night and there is not a tree … there’s no shade, nothing, and that bell wakes you up all the time and all you’ve got is a little parcel of things to see you through life.” He was talking about a woman’s life, let’s face it. Then he said: “And I thought who would cope with that and go down singing, only a woman.”


[source]

The picture is taken from Aplo Theater / Απλό Θέατρο

Γουίνυ: Ράνια Οικονομίδου
Γουίλυ: Κώστας Γαλανάκης

Σκηνοθεσία: Αντώνης Αντύπας
Σκηνικά-Κοστούμια: Γιώργος Πάτσας
Μουσική: Ελένη Καραΐνδρου
Φωτισμοι: Ανδρέας Σινάνος
Συνεργάτης - Σκηνοθέτης: Σύλβια Λιούλιου


----- The play in Greek (audio)




Η Βάσω Μανωλίδου ως Γουίνι στις "Ευτυχισμένες μέρες" του Σάμιουελ Μπέκετ. Ζωντανή ηχογράφηση από την παράσταση που σκηνοθέτησε ο Αλέξης Μιντωτής στο Εθνικό Θέατρο το 1980. Γουίλι ο Μηνάς Χατζησάββας
Μετάφραση: Μαρία Λαμπαδαρίδου-Πόθου
Σκηνικά/ Κουστούμια: Γιάννης Τσαρούχης





------ another astro-post about Samuel Beckett: Breath

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