In the ‘Night with the Artists’ session following a performance of Happy Days, leading actor and co-director Pamela Rabe put it best in her summation of the Samuel Beckett’s play. 

“Some will tolerate it, some will find it intriguing, and some will absolutely love it,” she said. 

The varying experiences presented by Rabe perhaps reflect her own view of the challenges that the production holds, admitting that she was initially not enthused by taking the role. 

“But when something petrifies you, it draws you to it,” she added.

The role is petrifying for good reason. Rabe is trapped in a mound for over 90 minutes, having to deliver what is essentially a stilted monologue of jargon and emotion, while maintaining interest and keeping her own composure in what are some of the more trying circumstances in theatre.

Making the role even more difficult is the fact that there is no truly cohesive plot in Beckett’s play, very much falling into the absurdist genre, with sentences that barely make sense and non-sequiturs at every turn, meaning that Rabe’s focus must be truly immense to keep up with the dense work. 

Consequently, this does make the play a trying watch for viewers as well, with a great degree of focus required to not only follow the production but to truly engage with it. Rabe is fantastic in this regard, finding a way of deriving comedy out of her delivery even when given the most mundane lines and drawing humour out of the absurdity (her repeated line about it being a “happy day” is comically tragic and a useful tool of reference for the audience as the play progresses). 

Markus Hamilton is a superb foil to Rabe, playing a husband-like figure in various iterations throughout the production. Hamilton brings humour through his physicality mainly and does so very well, with clear and intentioned movements that provide a strong contrast to the stiffness of Rabe. 

The theatrical experience is also extremely well-handled by those behind the scenes, with the mound in which Rabe is buried being cleverly constructed by set and lighting designer (and also co-director) Nick Schlieper and moved impressively during the blackout (which is punctuated by sound designer Stefan Gregory’s chilling music), so that there is shock when Rabe emerges from the blackout submerged to her neck. The effect is very Sydney Theatre Company (almost a trademark at this point), but, as always, is done very well. 

Ultimately, this is a performance that centres around Rabe and she certainly delivers with flawless execution. There are very few roles in theatre that would be more difficult, but Rabe is not only convincing, but she adds her own flair and touch to the role with her manner, which comes across very well. The challenges in this production largely lie in the text of the play itself, which is very dense and, even for an absurdist text, lacks any sort of cohesion for the audience to latch onto. Perhaps that is the very point, but it can make for quite an isolating theatrical experience (unless, of course, it is something with which one truly connects). 

This will certainly be a polarising production by virtue of the relative inaccessibility of the play itself. However, it gives voice and scope to one of Australia’s finest actors to show off the bounds of her craft and she does so impeccably well. For those interested in the craft of theatre, this is a truly masterful performance from Rabe. This is not an easy watch, but, Rabe is right, there certainly is something of an intrigue about it. 

Rating: ★★★★

Happy Days plays at the Wharf 1 Theatre until 15^th June. For more information, click here.

Photo credit: Brett Boardman