[Translated from Deux ans de votre vie]

Bridget loves the freedom of the single life. The only problem? Her brother keeps trying to hang himself in her clothes closet… so Bridget decides to find him a mate in the most unromantic way imaginable: by tricking Chloe, a complete stranger, into signing a contract to be Jeremy’s live-in girlfriend. The worst thing is, it’s working: Chloe and Jeremy are in love… A smart, malicious, very theatrical comedy about couples, conformity, and love among the Millennials.

Cast size: 2F/1M

Winner of the Prix BMO, the original French text was produced by Les Biches Pensives at Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, and subsequently toured in Québec, Ontario, and Vancouver, BC.

You Are Happy had its world premiere at the Great Canadian Theatre Company (Ottawa, ON) on September 21, 2017. It has since been produced by Dogheart Theatre/Blarney Productions (Edmonton, AB) and by Red Theater Chicago, and was nominated for a Tom Hendry Award.

This translation was commissioned by Ruby Slippers Theatre and supported by a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts' Theatre International programme. A public reading was presented by BoucheWHACKED! Theatre and Ruby Slippers as part of the rEvolver Festival's Ta Gueule reading series. The director was Diane Brown.

“Rebecca Deraspe’s sparkling comedy about love among the Millennials is an intelligent, spicy, sometimes bitter look at three individuals trying to find some meaning in their bland lives.” – Chicago Theatre Review

”…a tight, well written, well directed and well acted piece of performance art that will have you experiencing theater in a new way.” – Chicago Theater and Arts

"This is a play for our times. Love not only thinks it can get away with anything but in You Are Happy, it actually does."
– Ottawa Tonite

"At its heart always remains our human need for connection and love." – Capital Critics' Circle

"This play is at times painfully funny... 70 minutes of uncomfortable delight." 
– apt613.ca

“In the end, it doesn’t take much to make a good piece of theatre. You just need a good text, two or three well-chosen props, and actors capable of making you believe their incredible story. Deux ans de votre vie [You Are Happy] brings all of these elements together, but makes its mark above all thanks to the writerly voice of Rébecca Déraspe.” – La Presse

“This absurd and refreshing fable written by Rébecca Déraspe . . . is like a cool breeze at the end of summer, and will surely provide an enjoyable evening for lovers of sprightly and intelligent theatre.” – Canoe

“It’s a piece that blends lightness and substance with dexterity... A must-see.” – Le Quatrième

“With a sparse set and witty dialogue, three actors command the stage in this story of forced love.” – The Peak

"Déraspe’s writing—in Leanna Brodie’s always on-key translation—is sweet and inquisitive… The type of play you come out of thinking you’ll send someone to see.”                                                                – Quebec Reads

”Banigan’s Blarney/Dog Heart production enjoys the theatrical style of a comedy that’s about the artifice of love. The characters look us in the eye, and set the scene. “I’m in the elevator, and you’re in there with me.”  Is enforced couple-hood, nailed down with research, a workable solution to life’s great conundrum, i.e. happiness?”  – 12thNight.ca

More information about Rébecca Déraspe, whose plays I Am William and Gametes are also available through this site.

CHLOE: He places his hand on my head
Strokes my hair
Like I've turned into the softest thing in the world
I've turned into
The softest thing
In the whole entire World
And suddenly I'm running on hot sand with my blue dress blowing in the breeze and I don't smoke any more either I'm healthy and I love the hot ocean wind over wide-open landscapes

We're going to kiss in less than three seconds
I'm scared I've forgotten how
I feel like a twelve-year-old at a bonfire
He kisses me