HAPPY AS LARRY

About the production

What makes us happy?

Happy as Larry is a funny, playful and poignant new dance show, which investigates the elusive nature of human happiness. This powerful production combines an intoxicating mix of ballet, break-dance, roller-skating and highly physical contemporary dance.

The cast of characters is developed from the Enneagram, a psychological system that maps nine personality types: The Perfectionist; The Giver; The Performer; The Tragic Romantic; The Observer; The Devil’s Advocate; The Optimist; The Boss; and The Mediator – all rich inspiration for Shaun Parker’s insightful creativity.

Set to a vibrant electro/acoustic score, the performers bring fun and danger to the fore in this innovative and moving dance work.

To purchase the album of Happy as Larry, visit I-TUNES.

 

Creative Team

Director/Choreographer: Shaun Parker
Co-Composers: Nick Wales & Bree Van Reyk
Designer: Adam Gardnir
Lighting Designer: Luiz Pampolha
Dramaturg: Veronica Neave
Rehearsal Directors: Craig Bary, Joshua Mu

Performers:

2019 Germany Tour: Toby Derrick, Joel Fenton, Harrison Hall, Libby Montilla, Josh Mu, Sophia Ndaba, Marnie Palomares, Harriet Ritchie, Alex Warren

2014 Tour of Europe and the Middle East: Jana Castillo, Toby Derrick, Luke Hanna, Libby Montilla, Josh Mu, Sophia Ndaba, Marnie Palomares, Lewis Rankin, Joshua Thomson

2013 Australian Tour: Jana Castillo, Toby Derrick, Libby Montilla, Josh Mu, Sophia Ndaba, Timothy Ohl, Marnie Palomares, Lewis Rankin, Joshua Thomson

Past performers: Anton, Matt Cornell, Dean Cross, Robbie Curtis, Ghenoa Gela, Melanie Palomares, Harriet Ritchie, Adam Synnott, Miranda Wheen, Paul White, Lee Wilson

 

DURATION

75 minutes

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Major Festivals Initiative, managed by the Australia Council for the Arts, the Australian Government Arts and Advisory Body, in association with the confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals Inc., Sydney Festival, Perth International Arts Festival, Brisbane Festival and the New Zealand International Festival.

The 2019 Happy as Larry tour to the Middle East and Germany was supported by the Australian Government through the Council for Australia-Arab Relations, and an Australian Cultural Diplomacy Grant from the Department of Foreign Affairs.  It was also funded by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.

The 2014 Happy as Larry Masahat Tour was supported by the Commonwealth through the Council for Australian-Arab Relations, which is part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The Australian Government is proud to be associated with this tour through the national performing arts touring program, Playing Australia, which gives Australians across the country the opportunity to see some of our best performing arts.

 

      

Critical Reviews

LA REUNION

Happy as Larry, the creation of the Australian Shaun Parker, was undeniably a highlight of the festival… his work [is of a type that] one sees little of in Europe… he has a humour and sensitivity and we tightrope walk between laughter and tears… the public made him a veritable triumph!

Danser Magazine

 

UK

[A] highly enjoyable production…Parker always has something up his sleeve.

The Times

 

….the whole piece was extremely powerful and expressive.

thepublicreviews.com

 

Through a judicious combination of street dance, contemporary dance and acrobatics with a bit of ballet thrown in, Parker delivers a constantly evolving set of vignettes…expressing loneliness and hesitant friendship, some playfully raucous, to a lively electro-score written by Nick Wales and Bree Van Reyk. The precision of the ensemble work is breathtaking, coordinated to within a hairsbreadth of the music.

The Stage

 

Refreshingly, this is solid, analogue stagecraft ; there is no digital trickery or video screen projections. The Chalk Artist’s accelerated scrawls of coloured chalk are just as effective as lasers. And when the balloons that have been hovering above the wall finally descend around the lone Chalk Artist, a little voice cried out behind me: ‘Is he happy now?’ I think we all were.

The Stage

 

AUSTRALIA

Happy as Larry is brilliantly choreographed, flawlessly and joyously performed, and thoroughly entertaining from start to finish. I literally sat on the edge of my seat.

Australian Stage

 

It’s smiles all round – on stage and in the audience. You have to welcome a dance piece about happiness…delightful.

Sydney Morning Herald

 

As long as we have people like Shaun Parker creating shows, there is no need to fear for the future of arts in Australia. His work possesses a confidence and ingenuity that make him one of the most interesting artists in his field, level of experience not withstanding…Parker has created a spectacularly funny, playful, poignant, unpretentious piece of theatre that is so much more than dance…It is witty, at times deliciously nostalgic and such a fascinating examination of human behaviour, it is hard to leave feeling anything other than happy as Larry.

The Daily Telegraph

 

Delivered with such accomplishment and ease, the company are given extended applause and make this a feast for the senses. Shaun Parker’s background in music, choreography, physical theatre and dance make this work a must see in the future. The contemporariness is riveting, but the emotional tenure of this work is unique and inspiring – a joy to behold!

Arts Hub

PREVIOUS TOURS

7:30pm,  Thu 18 April 2019 Niedersächsiche Staatsttheater Hannover

8pm,  Tue 16 April 2019 Tollhaus – Karlsruhe, Germany

Tue 22 April 2014 7:30pm Ramallah, West Bank, Al-Kasaba Theatre

Sat 19 April 2014 7:30 pm Amman, Jordan, Al-Hussein Cultural Center

Tue 15 April 2014 8:30pm Bipod Festival, Beirut, Lebanon, Al Madina Theatre

Thu 10 April 2014 8pm Linz, Austria, Posthof

Mon 07 April 2014 8pm Belgrade, Serbia, Theater on Terazije

Tue 10 September - Sat 14 September 2013 Sydney Seymour Centre

Tue 03 September 2013 Mandurah Performing Arts Centre

Sat 31 August 2013 Albany Entertainment Centre

Fri 23 August 2013 Darwin Festival, Darwin Entertainment Centre

Thu 22 August 2013 Darwin Festival, Darwin Entertainment Centre

Sat 17 August 2013 Adelaide Festival Centre - Dunstan Playhouse

Fri 16 August 2013 Adelaide Festival Centre - Dunstan Playhouse

Thu 15 August 2013 Adelaide Festival Centre - Dunstan Playhouse

Thu 15 August 2013 Adelaide Festival Centre - Dunstan Playhouse

Wed 14 August 2013 Adelaide Festival Centre - Dunstan Playhouse

Sat 10 August 2013 Melbourne Gasworks Arts Park

Fri 09 August 2013 Melbourne Gasworks Arts Park

Wed 07 August 2013 Frankston Arts Centre

Sat 03 August 2013 NORPA at Lismore City Hall

Wed 31 July 2013 West Gippsland Arts Centre, Warragul

Sat 27 July 2013 Mildura Arts Centre

Wed 24 July 2013 Griffith Regional Theatre

Sat 20 July 2013 The Cube Wodonga

Wed 17 July 2013 Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre

Sat 13 July 2013 Newcastle Civic Theatre

Wed 10 July 2013 Orange Civic Theatre

Fri 21 October - Sat 22 October 2011 Northern Stage, Newcastle, England

Tue 18 October - Wed 19 October 2011 The Lowry, Salford, England

Fri 14 October - Sat 15 October 2011 Peacock Theatre, London, England

Tue 11 October - Tue 11 October 2011 Brighton Dome, Brighton, England

Tue 04 October - Wed 05 October 2011 Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, England

Fri 30 September - Sat 01 October 2011 Lighthouse, Poole, England

Tue 27 September - Wed 28 September 2011 Hall for Cornwall, Truro, England

Fri 23 September - Sat 24 September 2011 Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham, England

Tue 20 September - Wed 21 September 2011 Royal & Derngate, Northampton, England

Fri 16 September - Sat 17 September 2011 Oxford Playhouse, Oxford, England