Happy Days

This evening I met up with the Happy Days cast and crew an hour before their premier. We did a few photos in the dressing room, then after Othello had finished they quickly got their set ready so we could take some photos before the play started.

This is a happy day. Regardless of certain extraneous factors, today will be a happy day – at least that’s what Winnie wants. Buried up to her waist in the ground and with laconic and difficult husband Willie to deal with, Winnie just wants to have a happy day between the waking bell and the sleeping bell. Armed with her life in a bag and a head full of thoughts and memories and questions about cricked necks and hogs, join Winnie for two days in her search for Happy Days.

hjorthmedh-happy-days-1 — Getting warming up for the play. Julia Kass chewing, directed by Lewis Scott.

hjorthmedh-happy-days-2 — Julia Kass as Winnie

hjorthmedh-happy-days-3 — Sam Payne had designed the lights so that they slowly changed colours during the duration of the day depicted in the play.

hjorthmedh-happy-days-4 — Julia has an hour-long monologue.

hjorthmedh-happy-days-5 — I asked what else Julia had in her bag, and she mentioned a mirror. So had to incorporate that in the photo.

hjorthmedh-happy-days-6 — Adding a gun to the mix.

hjorthmedh-happy-days-7 — Happy pills in liquid form.

hjorthmedh-happy-days-8 — Almost out of time, the house is about to open. The hat appeared to be partly see-through so I asked Sam to turn on some strong spotlights, and Julia to pose in profile.

hjorthmedh-happy-days-9 — Discretely snapping a couple of photos during the play.

hjorthmedh-happy-days-10 — Elliot makes an appearance for the first time at the end of the play. Here I was playing a bit in Photoshop and ended up posterising the photo.

Reviews: Varsity (4/5), The Cambridge Student (7/10)

Cast
Winnie – Julia Kass
Willie – Elliott Wright

Production Team
Director – Lewis Scott
Publicity Designer – Alice Walker
Producer – Sebastian Constantine
Assistant Director – Rute Costa
Production Designer – Emily Larcombe
Lighting Designer – Sam Payne
Stage Manager – Eleanor Mitchell
Photographer – Johannes Hjorth

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