IF you're looking for a theatrical challenge then you couldn't do much better than Samuel Beckett's Happy Days.

That's exactly the task Colchester actor Claire Worland has set herself when she appears in the play next week at the Headgate Theatre in Colchester.

Director Sara Green says: "I wanted to direct Claire again. We've been in many plays together but I haven't directed her since the House of Bernarda Alba and so I asked her whether there was anything she wanted to do."

"There were a few I've been interested in for a while," Claire adds, "and Happy Days was one of them. I like to be taken out of my comfort zone when it comes to parts and Happy Days is definitely something that will do that."

In Samuel Beckett's classic play, Winnie spends her day performing her ritual tasks. What else can she do? She is half buried in a mound of earth and Willie, her husband, played by Colchester actor David Elliott, doesn't seem to be inclined to help her. But it's her indomitable spirit which provides humour in the face of desperation.

The Headgate Production follows the hugely successful performance of another of Beckett's plays Waiting For Godot last year and it's a show Sara knows quite well as she performed it herself back in 1982.

"It was a student production at Essex University," she reveals, "and I was directed by a man who had actually met Samuel Beckett. All I can really remember about the performance was that it was a success and I got through it."

Claire adds: "I knew how much text there was but the reality only dawned on me when I got the script and started reading.

"The enormity of it all is pretty huge but I'm really looking forward to it. I wanted a challenge after all."

Happy Days is at the Headgate Theatre, Chapel Street North, Colchester, from Wednesday, April 27 to Saturday, April 30 at 7.45pm each night.

Tickets are £11, £9 for concessions, available from the box office on 01206 366000 or on-line at www.headgatetheatre.co.uk

There will be a talk back session after the performance on Thursday, April 28.