The Happy Project Long Awaited Update

Happy is going up north for the fest. Having played The Latitude Festival and various teaser shows we're now offering the show in your home.


lost dog theatre presents
Happy
@ the Fringe, 21st August Onwards. Available on demand.

One Man. One Mission. One pair of Pyjamas.


HAPPY is coming to the Fringe for a special series of cheering performances within your own home. lost dog is offering performances of Happy in your own living room. Make your house a happy home and let Happy cheer up everyone you can get in through the door.

Contact Rich at lostdog@gmail.com or tel 07921645517 if you want the show in your living room, or bedroom or porch.

That was the weekend that was

Happy did London this weekend (though not in the way that Debbie did Dallas). On the Monday, dressed in My PJs and bear ears, and equipped with a few good friends who were only mildly embarrassed to follow me out onto Islington High Street, I chanced offering bear hugs to the good people of London. Despite a commiseratory hug from an Oxfam Censor it appeared at first that the good people of London were in no need of a bear hug. Apart from the odd shaken smile, and cursory backward glance, Happy was pretty much ignored. It did indeed seemed that London had had far too much of this sort of malarkey to be derailed on a Monday lunchtime by some chap in his nightwear. However despite the odd protestation from my friends along the lines of “You’re making me feel stupid now” and “I think I saw your dignity back there somewhere”. Happy persevered and a few bemused hugs later, trundled off to the Angel Tube Station. Here the rotund Tube Manager gave me a concerned look as if my bear hug sign may explode at any minute, and after some discussion with her staff decided to bear down on me rather menacingly (do you see what I did there, do you. *sigh*). At this point I fear a little wee may have wanted to seek sanctuary in my pants. I was about to confess to being one of the Guilford Four when she demanded a hug, and cheerfully grabbed me announcing that “Hugging’s better than fighting in innit”. The relief nearly flooded into my socks. Apart from a couple more stealthly surprise hugs from energetic passer-bys Happy conceded that this was his lot and trundled back to the Old Red Lion. Not surprisingly London, I think just seemed a bit more reticent than Leeds to embrace the whole Bear Hugs for no particular reason concept. A good deal asked my friends what was going on and were genuinely baffled when they realised no money was involved. Still there was enough smiles noted to think that it wasn’t all a waste of time. Monday evening Happy was first on to a marvellously packed out audience at the Old Red Lion Theatre, and the show seemed to go down a treat, I was Happy, they seemed Happy, much beer was had to celebrate this Happy match. All told another Happy trip to the Smoke would not be amiss.

Today Matthew I'm going to be Shirley Temple

The Happy Project website is now online. It looks rather super, though I say so myself, which is fine cos I didn't make it.

Last night Happy went to the pub (purely for research purposes of course, where else to investigate the happiness quotents of others?), and over a couple of beers (well how else to evaluate and integrate with the Pub natives than by joining them in their drinking rituals?) Happy was roundly berated and ridiculed for being second to the lovely miss Lucy Porter in the Happy stakes. It was pointed out that not only was Lucy more than likely funnier than Happy, she was also a damn site better looking and incredibly more famous. In fact it was unanimously decided that the only good thing about Happy's new woe was that I was so far below her in everyway, shape and form that she is very unlikely to have played the same venue as me. However this spouted a gleeful hypothesise that Lucy may well have just played The Old Red Lion Theatre and that my piece there will dive bomb into some hideous car crash performance as the audience continually heckle me with "we've seen this all before mate, and she was funnier and fitter". Until eventually the whole audience turns into some bloodthirsty mob wielding torches and burn me to a crisp ala the wicker man.

I think it's fair to say I'm not in the least bit nervous about my performance in London next monday.

It was then pointed out that Happy may be a bit drunk and since I'd told my Mrs Happy I wasn't drinking midweek and she was about to meet me I probably wont have to worry about the weekend, as its existence for me may be non.

To add insult to injury one friend had used myheritage.com and scanned happy's face to which the number one celebrity match was Prince Harry. Better still when I used 2 different photos of me, the top celebrity matches were Shirley Temple and I kid you not Whoopie Goldberg. I want to find a way of putting this in the show. Any ideas will be appreciated. No doubt Lucy Porter has already done this and hilariously looks like Angelina Jolie.

Now I know how Cpt Scott felt

Cold and pissed off that somebody had got there before him. Happy was in the fine ale establishment Fanny's when he bumped into someone who had seen the show Happy at the Mill. Hello he said. (A great opener to a conversation I think you'll agree, but somewhat lacking the portent of doom that was about to follow) "I got a programme from City Variety's the other day and some girl is doing your show"

And he was right. Turn's out Lucy Porter is touring a show called Happiness all about (you guessed it) making the audience happy. To add insult to injury it appears she did it at Edinburgh last year. She's also very sexy, something else to pur salt onto my wounds. I'd quite like to diddle my usurper. What this all means for Happy I don't quite know at this moment in time. I don't have the stomach to go and see it myself so my lovely gorgeous girlfriend has offered to go and see it and give me the sad miserable lowdown.

I think my show may now be called misery and be all about my rubbish attempts to do Happy.

Boo and Hiss.

Til it’s over and then It’s nice and quiet but soon again starts another big riot

Frustratingly close to the website being completed I now just await Jack's fine handy work.

Happy has just heard about counciller and lady mayoress of Keighley Rose Thompson who stood as an independant member and now having been elected has defected to the BNP. A foolish manoever as now she will be featuring in The Happy Project and generally be ridiculed for being a lot of a twat.

You can google her details or just read them here:

Rose Thompson
Woodhouse & Hainwood Ward

61 Delph House
Parkwood Rise
Keighley
BD21 4RQ
cllr.thompson@keighley.gov.uk

Oh look she's even left her mobile number I can't see that coming in handy

07950 658340

Happy has vague recollections of singing Bjork's Oh so Quiet at the West Yorkshire Playhouse last night. Hopefully this spread a bit of happiness and not too much embarrassment.

Happy Webbing

Yesterday was spent trying to design the happy project website. Like all good cowboys I'm wearing chaps and trying to cut corners. I shan't tell you what corners I'm trying to cut or how to I'm trying to do it in the unlikely event that anyone is actually reading this and responds with "You fool, don't you know making an internet site is all about laborious amounts of time, pain and failure". I believe in the maxim ignorance is bliss.

As it stands I'm hoping to be online by tonight or tomorrow. Woo (and dare I say) Hoo

For now though I have posted as an image what I hope will be my Upcoming Dates page (not of the social or blind variety). This will hopefully have more venues in it when some unsuspecting sponser gives me tons of cash to allow me to go to Edinburgh without be crippled with debt ala last year.

PJ I cannaa see

Happy was out and about this weekend offering free bear hugs to the people of Leeds and Bradford. Double panted for fear of the little happy chap popping out and frightening the good people of Leeds, I donned my PJs and bear ears, and stood in various places around Leeds offering bear hugs to the general public. Someone shouted "Go to bed, you twat" rather endearingley at me, and one nice gentleman in the market demonstrated how to give a bear hug properly, which appeared to consist of snapping my spine and squeezing me till blood came out of my ears and my bottom squeaked like a chipmunk. Amusing though was how many people didn't give me a second glance, as if a man wearing PJs & bear ears, offering bear hugs, is exactly what you would expect on a Friday lunchtime when leaving Greggs. Still many a bear hug was proffered and accepted and all in all it was in its own silly way quite heart warming which was the exact response I was hoping for. On Saturday I ventured to the museum of film and photography in Bradford, again many a hug was offered but it felt a little bit more contrived than on Friday and I was quite glad when the battery in the video camera ran out. Back to Leeds again next time to offer games of leap frog to the general public I think. Mucho thanks to A for taking the photos and then transforming them into the posters.