Great Performances: Samuel Beckett's Happy Days

I saw the New York production with Irene Worth and directed by Andrei Serban, and have never forgotten it. Truly memorable theater. Irene Worth is a fine actress and Serban is a brilliant director. This video is ruined by the camera person or people. Without rhyme or reason the camera moves from one thing to another. It goes back and forth, in and out, in long shots, medium shots, closeups, and extreme closeups. Irene Worth is usually a fine and disciplined actress, but here she mugs for the camera. In extreme closeups she looks directly into the camera, males faces, rolls here eyes. It is painful to watch.

In Beckett, the words are important, but here they are lost in the noise of the frenetic camera movements and the facial contortions of Ms. Worth. The sound is poor, and it is often hard to understand what she is saying. The original NYC play deserves 5 stars. This travesty deserves only 1 star.

This play is obviously not the most diverting out there, considering that essentially nothing happens throughout it. As to the play itself, it is (to me at least) very worthy of discussion. So many things could be meant by it. It is extremely ambiguous. Obviously, that was the intent, and whether or not you like the play, the acting is fantastic. Irene Worth, playing Minnie, is actually hilarious and the staging is very well done. It's directed well and the scenery is good. I'd definitely recommend it for any fan of Samuel Beckett and even to someone who's not, as even fairly un-theater-y people can stand it. I quite enjoyed this play, though, in fairness, I would not want to see it again. It's difficult to sit through but, again, that is the intent of the play.