Happy Days by Samuel Beckett stands as a theatrical masterpiece of all time. True to Beckett’s absurd style it explores the essence of our existence on earth by contemplating the only Beckettian truths of our human experience: we are born, we exist, we will die, and for some unexplainable reason we cannot stop talking. The main character Winnie (Amanda Bothma) subsists in a mound of earth in what seems to be an endless day in the scorching sun with only her bag containing an assortment of everyday objects including a music box and a gun to help alleviate the boredom. She searches for happiness and meaning within this hopeless condition – much like all of us do stuck within our own self-made mounds of earth. She is lonely, with only her husband Willie (Pieter Taljaard) providing some limited human
interaction.
Winnie is in absolute denial about her circumstances yet manages to whisk the audience away with her to places of romance, of joy and laughter, of love and even to the possibility of a world that is kind. The play becomes an echoing of human words and dreams speaking directly to a modern audience.
Directed by Pieter Taljaard
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Directed by Pieter Taljaard
Cast:
Amanda Bothma
Pieter Taljaard
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Pieter Taljaard
Pieter completed his matric at the Pro Arte High School of the Arts in Pretoria where he wrote his first one-act play, Die Ander Mense which was presented at the ATKV Tienertoneel (Teen Drama Festival). Taljaard received a special award as playwright of the play from the ATKV. He continued his studies at the Pretoria Technikon Film School (Now Thswane University of Technology) and while a student here presented his first full length play at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival Fringe in 1988 with a poor theatre play called Violince. Since then Taljaard has presented many productions on the Fringe including Ramhorn, Snacktime In Candyland, The Other Side of Eve and Solo.
Taljaard freelanced in the theatre and film industry for some years before entering the drama and music education sector as head of Dramatic Arts at the Lady Grey Arts Academy. Taljaard wrote and directed the first four years of the Lady Grey Passion Play drawing national and international press coverage. Since 2008 Taljaard has been involved in several productions in East London as actor including the The King and I and Evita staged at the Guild Theatre. In 2008 Taljaard acted for acclaimed Shakespearian director Paige Newmark on Hamlet and As You Like It which toured South Africa. As a member of the East London Dramatic Society Taljaard directed Othello, The Glass Menagerie and Hamlet amongst many others. Taljaard first acted for the Wela Kapela family in 2019 with a production of The Doctor by Molierre and directed by Amanda Bothma presented at the 2019 Festival Fringe. In 2022 Taljaard was also seen in the award-winning production of Once on This Island at the Baxter Theatre directed by Bothma.
Amanda Bothma
Amanda Bothma has entertained East London audiences since her first break-through production of Bobaas in die Boendoe at the Guild Theatre in 1990. Amanda Bothma received her Bachelor’s degree in Drama and Acting from the University of the Free State. In fall 2017 she enrolled at The Eugene O’Niell Theatre institute in Connecticut then in 2021 she trained in the Chekov method under Mara Laduvic co-founder of the Michael Chekov Actors Studio Boston. Since then critically acclaimed work continued to follow, earning her a list of award winning productions including: A Star is Born – the rise and fall of Judy Garland, NEXT!!!, Damsel in Distress, The Story of Eva Cassidy and Vincent – his quest to love and be loved. Amanda has served on the East London Guild Theater Board since 2000 and has written and directed numerous productions in the last 33 years.
