"Happy Days" by Samuel Beckett

"Nothing is funnier than misfortune!" (Samuel Beckett)

Winnie spends a lot of "happy days" in the pile of earth in which she is buried. Only her upper body is still sticking out, but she is in good spirits, chatting with Willie, her husband, who lives silently beside her, reading the newspaper. Despite her fears and limitations, Winnie is determined to enjoy life.

In complete contradiction to her catastrophic external situation, Winnie actually appears to be the epitome of a happy person, who enjoys herself with all kinds of everyday objects from a handbag, hardly expresses any displeasure or dejection, rejoices in the most insignificant events and faces fate with unwavering optimism. In the second part, she sinks even deeper into the pile of sand until only her head peeks out. Stay on top, she seems to say, always stay on top. She has settled into the unknown, she lives her life in such a confined space and she is happy about the graces, the little help that comes from somewhere.
She perseveres.

"Happy Days", one of the most visionary texts of the twentieth century, was first performed in New York in 1961.

German by Erika and Elmar Tophoven

With: Martina Guse, Udo Rau
Directed by: Christof Küster
Stage and costumes: María Martínez Peña

Photos: Sabine Haymann