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Disaster, Displacement and Domesticity

Winnie’s Survival Strategies in Beckett’s Happy Days

In: Samuel Beckett Today / Aujourd'hui
Author:
Rosaleen Maprayil University of Reading Department of Film, Theatre and Television UK Reading

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Abstract

This article explores the way in which modern productions of Happy Days (by Sarah Frankcom and Katie Mitchell) can be read as a reappraisal of Winnie’s predicament in the light of climate change and disaster. By viewing the mound as both home and tomb, this exploration of the play in performance examines the way domestic rituals form part of her survival strategies. By utilising the critical framework of phenomenology and material object theory alongside environmental and sociological studies, this paper aims to further our understanding of the female body and its relationship with the environment in moments of crisis that lead to displacement, due to disaster, ageing or homelessness.

Résumé

Cet article explore comment certaines mises en scène contemporaines de Happy Days permettent de réévaluer le sort de Winnie à la lumière des changements climatiques et des catastrophes naturelles. Considérant le mamelon dans lequel Winnie est retenue prisonnière à la fois comme un foyer et une tombe, cette analyse de deux spectacles (Sarah Frankcom, Katie Mitchell) s’ attarde sur les rituels domestiques qui font partie des stratégies de survie que met en oeuvre le personnage. En s’ appuyant sur la phénoménologie, la théorie de l’ objet matériel, sur la sociologie et les études environnementales, cet article s’ attache au corps féminin dans sa relation avec son environnement par temps de crise, quand la catastrope naturelle entraîne un déplacement, ou quand le corps souffre de son vieillissement ou se retrouve sans domicile fixe.

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