Artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset presented their new play Happy Days in the Art World at New York’s Performa binennial and at the Tramway theatre in Glasgow this winter. Read what the reviewers had to say.
From Happy Days in the Art World. Photo: Neil Thomas Douglas
“This piece by the Danish-Norwegian conceptual art duo Elmgreen & Dragset blurs the line between performance art and theatre,” writes The Independent.
In this theatrical performance Elmgreen & Dragset take a sidelong look at contemporary art. Happy Days in the Art World is described as a darkly self-portrait of the two internationally well-known artists, and draws references from Samuel Beckettʼs plays Happy Days and Waiting for Godot.
The play premiered in New York in November on the opening night of Performa 11. In May, the Bergen International Festival will be the venue for the world premiere of the Nordic version, with a Norwegian and a Danish actor portraying the two artists.
“It's the snarky, in-jokey insights into being a successful middle-aged duo of contemporary artists which ring most entertainingly true. ‘If one of us dies, the other won't be worth anything,’ complains one. ‘You can't sack me for serving no purpose – that's what artists do,’ whines the other,” writes The Independent.
The play expands on the artists’ ironic take on the contemporary art and the art world’s fascination with celebrity in general.
“It has all the trappings of a Beckett play with none of the complexity or existential angst. But that’s not necessarily a criticism. There’s no reason why Beckett should not be used to comic effect, and in this respect Happy Days in the Art World doesn’t disappoint, provided you get the jokes,” writes the Art Review.
Read more:
Feature in The New York Times: Similarity to Real People Is Completely Intended
Review in The Independent
Review at Art Review
Review in The Scotsman