Having nothing to do with the film of the same name, Happiness takes a peep into the dark underbelly of American culture. Set in the ‘perfect’ town of Happiness, the play follows a British documentary crew in their investigation of ‘the happiest town in America’. The veneer looks pretty enough, but it’s soon clear that something’s rotten underneath.
Told in a well-paced combination of straight theatre and imaginative dance routines, Happiness explores the cracks in the community’s beautiful façade and gives us a look at the deep-seated bigotry and hatred that pollutes society. It could be part Communist allegory, part Aryan warning or none of the above, but you’ll have to be the judge of that.
The cast of three do fantastically well at breathing life into the people of Happiness, continually switching between characters with simple, but effective, costume changes and well thought out match cuts. Admittedly, accents and personalities occasionally slip, but the trio more than make up for it with their exuberant dance routines.
Happiness is a bubbly and frenetic look at a dark and disturbing society. Their town might not be tasteful, but the production is delicious.
4/5
Richard Biggs
