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The Guardian
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Happy Days review – Pamela Rabe gives an aching performance in Samuel Beckett's unrelenting play
The character of Winnie in Samuel Beckett's Happy Days was described as a 'summit part' akin to Hamlet by Dame Peggy Ashcroft, one of the earliest Winnies. Only a daring actor would attempt the role: essentially a 90-minute monologue of looping, repetitive prose, and a prescriptive list of stage directions encompassing pauses and facial expressions. All while buried in earth – first from the waist, then the neck. But the rewards of scaling this mighty peak are extraordinary; it's hard to think of a more intriguing female character on stage, or a better scaffold for technical and emotional virtuosity. Who is Winnie? Beckett stipulates that she's 'about 50'; she's married to the taciturn Willie – who is seen sporadically on stage with her, generally crawling. She's well-educated, judging by her literary references. Her daily routine is dictated by a bell, for reasons undisclosed. She is at all times partially buried, in a scorched mound of earth in an unbroken landscape, for reasons undisclosed. The sun is hellish, the bell is relentless, and her helpmate seems thoroughly unhelpful. Despite this, she persists. She keeps talking; she recalls her youth; she counts her blessings. Keeps herself tidy. Beyond this, her psychology is contested territory. Is she stoic? Heroic? Pathetic? Deluded? There are myriad ways to play Winnie, and myriad ways – as an audience – to read her. Pamela Rabe's Winnie, immured in Sydney Theatre Company's Wharf stage for the next five weeks, seems pretty well broken by the time we meet her. Beckett writes his heroine's performance as a kind of tragic clowning routine: peppered throughout her monologue are the stage directions 'smile on' and 'smile off', as Winnie switches abruptly between the bright, cheery mask of extreme optimism, and a more doubtful, melancholic and even pained persona. In this production, co-directed by Rabe with veteran lighting and set designer Nick Schlieper, this oscillation between contrasting moods and affect is more muted. Rabe is not convincingly bright; you don't get the sense that Winnie really buys into the fantasy of an imminent 'happy day' – or that she truly experiences the moments of relief written into the script. It's an aching performance that speaks of a woman repeatedly bopped on the head by life, driven gradually downwards into her earthy confinement. Rabe gives in to full-throated anguish in the course of the play; her Winnie weeps. When she scolds Willie (played here by the wonderful Markus Hamilton, perhaps a little too young and vital to convincingly conjure the broken Willie) resonant notes of bitterness and contempt hint at their unhappy history. But without the light and shade, the play is tougher viewing – and less satisfying for an audience, who doesn't experience the full arc of Winnie's journey as we watch her mask progressively slip off. There are fewer laughs in this production, too. Beckett's play has comedy as well as tragedy, and Rabe has great comic sensibilities as an actor – which shine through in several glorious moments – but many opportunities for comic relief are lost. At these times, the theatre can feel uncannily quiet. Similarly, Beckett's language – described by many actors and directors of this play as inherently musical in its rhythms and repetitions – is muted, with Rabe's delivery of lines leaning naturalistic. This adds to what is overall an oppressive atmosphere; beyond occasional bursts of music from a wind-up music box and Winnie singing, there's no sound track. The design feels similarly airless, with Schlieper – taking set and lighting duties – presenting the most claustrophobic version of Beckett's prescription for a 'trompe-l'oeil backcloth to represent unbroken plain and sky receding to meet in far distance'. The backdrop is a flat, unmodulated monotone, and the stage space is enclosed in a dark box. Beckett's 'expanse of scorched grass' is rendered as a dull grey and slightly gritty papier-mache-like surface. Winnie and Willie's universe is thoroughly devoid of contextual references, and thoroughly drab. In the second act, the directors boldly disregard Beckett's direction for an unchanged setting, instead turning down the lights and casting the stage in an inky blue wash, with only Rabe's face spotlit, and protruding from the earth mound in which she is now almost entirely buried. It's a gorgeous and striking tableau – peak Schlieper – though this aesthetic 'cool change' arguably undercuts Beckett's intimations of an interminable cycle of repeating days. Overall, this is a tough space to exist in for the show's run-time. Perhaps appropriately so – Beckett is not big on consolation – but this production may struggle to bring first-timers or sceptics of his work along for the ride. Happy Days is at Wharf 1 theatre, Sydney Theatre Company until 15 June.
Daily Mail
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
A-list actress, 45, looks completely unrecognisable in throwback snap - can YOU guess who it is?
An A-list star looked completely unrecognisable in an unearthed snap from the Noughties. She is one of Hollywood's most successful comedy actors, as well as a writer and producer. The Australian actress launched her acting career in 2003, with a role in a SBS comedy series. She went on to find fame in a blockbuster Hollywood film in 2011, before taking on a lead role in the a musical comedy trilogy. Now 45, the star has become well known for her outrageous on-screen persona and scene-stealing performances. So, can you guess who it is? It's Rebel Wilson! Beaming for the camera in the snap, the Bridesmaids actress looked worlds away from how we know her now. Then, she had short dark curly hair which couldn't be more different from her new svelte look and wavy blonde locks. Dressed in a black glitter top and trousers, Rebel posed for the snap, where she received a $12,000 (roughly £5,700) Scholarship, at the Wharf Theatre in Sydney in 2002. Many know Rebel as 'Fat Amy' in the Pitch Perfect films, which became the highest-grossing musical comedy films of all time. But in 2020, she shed a whopping 36kg during her 'year of health' and some help from Ozempic. In conversation with The Sunday Times last year, the movie star confessed about weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Monjouro: 'Someone like me could have a bottomless appetite for sweets, so I think those drugs can be good.' Rebel previously said that her Pitch Perfect contract prohibited her from losing weight. The movie franchise came to a close in 2017 and four years later the mother-of-one lost over 70 pounds. In July 2021 she revealed on Instagram Live about her weight loss journey: 'It first started when I was looking into fertility stuff and the doctor was like, 'Well, you'd have a much better chance if you were healthier.' 'That's kind of what started it, that if I lost some excess weight that it would give me a better chance for freezing eggs and having the eggs be a better quality. 'It wasn't even really myself, it was more thinking of a future mini-me, really.' And she spoke about it again with People in May 2022. She shared: 'I only started thinking of fertility when I was 39 so you feel quite late but then there are women in their mid-40s who've been successful.' Rebel added, 'Look at Janet Jackson, it's pretty inspiring,' referring to Janet giving birth to her son at age 50. When she discussed fertility treatments with a doctor: 'He looked me up and down and said, 'You'd do much better if you were healthier.'' Rebel confessed: 'I was taken aback. I thought, 'Oh God, this guy's so rude.' He was right. I was carrying around a lot of excess weight.' She reflected at the time, 'It's almost like I didn't think of my own needs. I thought of a future child's needs that really inspired me to get healthier.' Rebel is now mother to two-year-old daughter Royce, who she welcomed via surrogate and shares with wife Ramona Agruma. In regards to how she achieved her weight loss, Wilson focused on becoming more active by walking and doing high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with her personal trainer.
