top of page

THE HAPPY JOURNEY

Synopsis: 

 

The play dramatises the Kirby family's simple journey in their Chevrolet to elder daughter Beulah's house in Camden.

 

But there is more to this play than the banal rituals of a family excursion. Along the way, Ma reprimands her son Arthur for his wisecrack about her pious devotion to God. Her daughter Caroline is a daydreamer, but when she spits out of the car window, Ma scolds her too. Ma is a strong woman who has a habit of sitting in judgment of other people, but she cares little about what others think of her.

 

She has lost a son to war, so she is resigned to the inevitability of death and knows people must continue to go about their business, placing their faith in a benevolent God, even if mankind doesn't understand how he controls the universe.

 

BHTC NOTES: Performed as an evening of three short plays it is not clear from the information available how many performances were involved.

THE HAPPY JOURNEY

Playwright:  Thornton Wilder (1931)

Genre:  Drama

Directed by:  Sheila Rumney

Production Date:  Spring 1955

Group:  Burgess Hill Theatre Club (BHTC)

Staged:  St Andrews Parish Room Burgess Hill

 

BHTC Production Number: 3

 

PLAYWRIGHT: 

 

Although more generally known and referred to as 'The Happy Journey', the full title of this short play is actually ' The Happy Journey To Trenton & Camden' and was written by Thornton Wilder in 1931

Sheila Eagleton

Michael George

Jane Hardwick

Charles Gover

Julie Tory

Cast

Ma Kirby

Arthur

Caroline

Pa (Elmer) Kirby

Beulah

Programme & Press Cutting

bottom of page