When Winnie quotes Mr Shower (or Cooker), saying "What does it mean ...what's it supposed to mean?", Beckett is having a joke at our (the audience's) expense; Mrs Shower (or Cooker) retorts with "What are you meant to mean?" An intellectual understanding of the play isn't necessary. The greatest Beckett actors are often quoted as saying that they don't "understand" what he's written but have an instinctive feel for what he's getting at.

However, it may help to say a little about the themes and theatrical language of Happy Days. For me, the main subject is the delusional nature of human thought. Winnie thinks she's going to float up into the blue when really she's being dragged down into the mud. Her greatest delusion is her irrepressible optimism - she has nothing to be optimistic about but, because of Beckett's compassion, we can see her misapplied positive thinking as tragic rather than something to be despised.

Other themes include death and degeneration, permanence and change, marital and sexual relations, routine and time, objects and words, memory and ageing.

As in all his plays, Beckett isn't interested in psychology or social conditions but asks the question "what is a human being?" at the most basic level. What are we? An organism with (at least) 5 senses and some ability to analyse the world around us. This ability is very limited, though, and while we like to think of ourselves as terribly clever and advanced, like Winnie, we constantly misinterpret our conditions. This is partly because we tend to confine ourselves to a merely conceptual view of the world - and are always asking questions like Mr Shower's (or Cooker's).

Beckett's use of language is like music - as in a Beethoven symphony, the basic themes are stated, restated and varied over and over again. This isn't confined to words or sounds but applies also to the intricate and incredibly precise movements that Beckett demands of the actors. The play has been described as a "sonata for words and movement".

The play is also "a network of classical quotations", half-remembered (or half-forgotten depending on how you look at it) by Winnie. These include quotes from Shakespeare, Browning, Keats, Milton, Gray and Yeats.

A million things could be (and have been) said about Beckett and his works but maybe the best approach is to sit back and enjoy his haunting use of words and imagery and laugh/cry at the absurdity of Winnie's, and our, situation.

Simon Thomas, Director