We meet Winnie (Siobhán McSweeney) in unusual circumstances. She is asleep, buried up to her waist in clay. She is in a remote location, with only a blue sky visible behind her. The sun beats down on her, as she continues in her slumber. A bell chimes, sounding remarkably like the RTE Angelus bong, which slowly wakes her from her sleep. She starts to face the day without a complaint, as she talks to her husband Willie (Howard Teale) who lurks somewhere in the background!
The play was written by Samuel Beckett in 1961 and premiered in New York with Ruth White as Winnie. It was Beckett’s first stage play after Krapp’s Last Tape (which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London, in 1958). At this time, Beckett was already a well-established playwright, having already written Waiting for Godot (1953) and Endgame (1957). He would go on to win the Nobel Prize in 1969.
Siobhán McSweeney plays Winnie in this production. McSweeney is well known for her role as Sister Michael in Derry Girls. She is an impressive comedic actor that draws laughs out of very little with her warmth and subtle facial expressions, so should be ideal for this role. It is an iconic part for any female actor to perform and the play has been produced many times in recent years in Dublin. The production with Fiona Shaw at the Abbey Theatre will live long in the memory, along with recent production from Company SJ of Laethanta Sona (Happy Days as Gaeilge) for which Bríd Ní Neachtain won Best Actress in the 2022 Irish Times Theatre Awards. There was even a wordless version, Her Voice, that supposes the text as an internal monologue in the Dublin Theatre Festival in 2017.
The play is produced by Landmark Theatre, which is one of Ireland’s most ambitious independent theatre companies. They often have well-known names in their productions, with actors such as Gabriel Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson and Cillian Murphy appearing in their recent productions. It is a clever piece of casting to get McSweeney for the role.
There was an audible gasp at the start of the second act, as the plight of our protagonist was revealed. While we will not reveal the spoiler on this 62-year-old play, it was surprising that so many were unfamiliar with the work from one of our greatest writers. Some may be new to Beckett, drawn to the production by the presence of McSweeney. The first act was quite surprising as it did not contain as much comedy as you would expect, with McSweeney playing the role quite straight. It is the second act where the piece really comes to life, with some impressive touches of humour and pathos. The final scene is quite tragic, with Howard Teale as Willie traversing the stage in a heartbreaking and affecting sequence. For those who are not familiar with the piece or those that have seen it many times before, McSweeney puts an interesting new spin on the work from one of Ireland’s finest playwrights.
Happy Days
written by Samuel Beckett
directed by Caitríona McLaughlin
starring Siobhán McSweeney & Howard Teale
Happy Days – 3Olympia – Review
No More Workhorse 