an NAC English Theatre Company production

Study Guide
THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ENGLISH THEATRE
PROGRAMMES FOR STUDENT AUDIENCES
2008-2009 SEASON

Peter Hinton
Artistic Director, English Theatre

This Study Guide was written and researched by Deborah James for the National Arts Centre,
English Theatre, July, 2008. It may be used solely for educational purposes.

The National Arts Centre English Theatre values the feedback of teachers on the content and
format of its Study Guides. We would appreciate your comments on past Study Guides, on this
current one, or suggestions on ways to improve future Study Guides. Comments may be
directed to Martina Kuska, either by email at mkuska@nac-cna.ca or fax at (613) 943 1401.

Theatre5 Media Partner

 About This Study Guide
This Study Guide is formatted in easy-to-copy single pages, which may be used
separately or in any combination that works for your classes. The two colour
pages are intended for classroom display but may also be photocopied for
students.

Table of Contents page(s)

A Production Who’s Who..............................................................................................1

Beckett Biography ................................................................................................. 2 - 4

Timeline of Major Conflicts Occurring during Beckett’s Life:

An Historical Backdrop to Absurdism ..........................................................................5

Overview of Happy Days .......................................................................................6 - 12

Script and Production History ................................................................................6
Themes...................................................................................................................6
Plot Synopsis .................................................................................................... 7 - 8
Characters and Setting ..................................................................................... 8 - 9
Literary Devices: Irony and Wordplay ....................................................................9
Literary Devices: Literary Allusions...............................................................10 - 11
Glossary of Difficult Words ...................................................................................12

Happy Days and the Theatre of the Absurd ........................................................13 - 14

Director Leah Cherniak on Beckett .....................................................................15 - 16

Happy Days Activities.........................................................................................17 - 20

Pre-performance Activities..............................................................................17 - 18
Post-performance Activities ............................................................................19 - 20

Resources and Works Consulted................................................................................21

Happy Days Overview Crossword Puzzle, Clues and Answer Key ........................22 - 24

Happy Days Set (construction diagram).....................................................................25

Happy Days Set Design Maquette (detail) ..................................................................26

Happy Days Set (under construction in NAC shop)....................................................26

Playwright Samuel Beckett (photo).............................................................................27

Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................28

ArtsAlive.ca
Have You Heard?
This NAC hosted site has a wealth of educational resources available for teachers and
students of music, English theatre, French theatre, and dance. It’s well worth a visit.
http://www.artsalive.ca
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1 “Savage Loving” by J.D. O'Hara (book review) The New York Times on the Web, November 24, 1996.
http://www.samuel-beckett.net/fastweb.html

2 “Sam I Am: Beckett’s private purgatories” by Benjamin Kunkel. The New Yorker. August 7, 2006.
http://www.samuel-beckett.net/Kunkel_Beckett.html
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...a psychological and inner realism; they explore the
human sub-conscious in depth rather than trying to describe
the outward appearance of human existence. ...(D)eeply
pessimistic as they are, they are…(more than) an expression
of utter despair. It is true that basically the Theatre of
the Absurd attacks the comfortable certainties of religious
or political orthodoxy. It aims to shock its audience out
of complacency, to bring it face to face with the harsh
facts of the human situation as these writers see it. But
the challenge behind this message is anything but one of
despair. It is a challenge to accept the human condition
as it is, in all its mystery and absurdity, and to bear it
with dignity, nobly, responsibly, precisely because there
are no easy solutions to the mysteries of existence,
because ultimately man is alone in a meaningless world.
The shedding of easy solutions, of comforting illusions,
may be painful, but it leaves behind it a sense of freedom
and relief. And that is why, in the last resort, the
Theatre of the Absurd does not provoke tears of despair but
the laughter of liberation.
(Martin Esslin, Introduction to "Penguin Plays - Absurd Drama" (Penguin, 1965)
http://www.samuel-beckett.net/AbsurdEsslin.html

*According to Greek mythology, Sisyphus was condemned to push a heavy stone up a steep hill; but
before he reached the top the stone always rolled down, and he had to begin all over again.
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*Play (1963) The bitter story of a love triangle (two women and a man) is narrated by the characters
involved in it. They appear on stage encased in three large urns with only their heads protruding. The
heads speak in turn and sometimes all at the same time on cues given by spotlights.
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*mimes: catch-all category for popular performance-based entertainment in ancient Greece and Rome
that included short plays, dance, animal and bird imitations, singing, acrobatics, juggling, etc..
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created by Set/Costume Designer Victoria Wallace

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