Happy Days
by Samuel Beckett

“In a large leap of imagination, Deborah Warner and Fiona Shaw have made an epic out of a miniature. Everything about Warner’s production of Happy Days is big: the physical scale, the suggestion of global catastrophe and, above all, Shaw’s performance.” – The Οbserver

“[Fiona Shaw] is wonderfully funny... [She] delivers the dramatist’s potent stage poetry to perfection.” – The Daily Telegraph

“One of the greatest Beckett performances I have seen...” – The Sunday Times, Critics’ Choice

“This is a brilliant naturalistic performance...Shaw is tremendous to watch.” – The Guardian

“A memorable performance in an awesome play.”– Τhe Times

This production enjoyed rave reviews in the British press both for its inventive and imaginative direction by Deborah Warner, and for its exceptional central performance by Fiona Shaw. Buried in a mound of sand, Winnie (Fiona Shaw) conveys the static nature of her relationship with Willy (Tim Potter) in a production that manages to combine spontaneous laughter with the dramatic dead-ends of a life lived in alienation and forbearance. Beckett, who completed this famous play in 1961, captures the feelings of loneliness that emanate from splintered human relationships and the existential void with sensitivity, tenderness and humour. Regarding her performance, Fiona Shaw says she “took inspiration not from the stereotype of the 1950s housewife, but from the society of the women I know now”.

Deborah Warner is considered one of the leading directors in Europe, and has been honoured with countless international awards for her work in the worlds of theatre, opera, and film.

The production’s leading lady, Fiona Shaw, whom the Greek public has to date had the pleasure to enjoy only in her film work (such as The Black Dahlia, the Harry Potter series, and My Left Foot) has also won many awards for her theatre performances.