Festen (play)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Festen'' is a British stage adaptation of the 1998 Danish film of the same name (''The Celebration'' being the film's release title in North America). The adaptation is by English playwright David Eldridge. It was first staged in 2004 by producer
Marla Rubin Marla Rubin is an Olivier Award and South Bank Sky Arts Award-winning West End and Broadway theatre producer. She is known for originating plays based on Scandinavian books and films, and has helped launch the careers of a number of high-profile a ...
at the Almeida Theatre in London, and has since been staged in many countries around the world.


Synopsis

As in the original movie, ''Festen'' satirises the hypocrisy of a large and wealthy family by observing the events that unfold at the ancestral home during a reunion held to celebrate the oldest family member's 60th birthday. As the time arises for birthday speeches to be made to the party's subject, one of his sons stands and asks the assembled guests to choose which of two prepared speeches he should read. The guests select one not knowing its contents, and the son declares it the "truth speech". As he begins to talk, it becomes dramatically clear that he is not praising his father but accusing him of having sexually abused him and his sister, who committed suicide shortly before the events, during their childhood. The rest of the story traces the family's turbulent battle with the truth to discover whether the son's cold rage is justified or the product of a deranged imagination.


London productions

''Festen'' premiered at the Almeida Theatre in London and ran until 1 May 2004 before transferring to the Lyric Theatre. It was directed by Rufus Norris, designed by Ian MacNeil and co-produced in the West End by
Marla Rubin Marla Rubin is an Olivier Award and South Bank Sky Arts Award-winning West End and Broadway theatre producer. She is known for originating plays based on Scandinavian books and films, and has helped launch the careers of a number of high-profile a ...
and
Bill Kenwright William Kenwright, CBE (born 4 September 1945) is an English West End theatre producer and film producer. He has also been the chairman of Everton Football Club since 2004. Kenwright was born in Liverpool and attended Booker Avenue County Prima ...
. The production then went on a four-month tour throughout the UK. ''Festen'' has gone on to be produced around the world in countries including Australia, Greece, Ireland, Mexico & South Africa. In a review of the Almeida production, ''
The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...
'' noted that in the conversion from a film to a stage version, the story had "lost little of its power to shock and enthral in its transfer to the West End." A '' BBC London'' reviewer described the play as "one of the most powerful, poignant and overwhelming evenings I've ever spent in the theatre." The West End production ran from 15 September 2004 until 9 April 2005.


New York production

The U.S. production ran at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway from 23 March until 9 April 2006. The production retained director Norris, designer McNeil and co-producers Kenwright and Rubin, but was recast with American actors.


Toronto production

In 2008, Toronto's The Company Theatre (TCT) mounted the Canadian premiere of the play at Canadian Stage's Berkeley Street Theatre. The production was directed by TCT ensemble member, Irish director Jason Byrne, and starred veteran stage and screen actor Eric Peterson as family patriarch and businessman Helge Klingenfeldt. The balance of the cast was made up of a mix of TCT alumni and newcomers: *
Rosemary Dunsmore Rosemary Dunsmore (born July 13, 1952) is a Canadian TV, film, and theatre actress, director, and educator. She was awarded a Dora Mavor Moore Award for her 1982 performance in ''Straight Ahead/Blind Dancers''. In 2009 she won the ACTRA Award f ...
as Elsa *
Nicholas Campbell Nicholas Campbell (born 24 March 1952) is a Canadian film, television and voice actor and filmmaker, who won three Gemini Awards for acting. He is known for such films as ''Naked Lunch'', ''Prozac Nation'', ''New Waterford Girl'' and the telev ...
as Poul * Philip Riccio as Christian * Allan Hawco as Michael * Tara Rosling as Helene *
Caroline Cave Caroline Cave is a Canadians, Canadian film, television and stage actor, known for her roles in the films ''This Beautiful City'', ''One Week (2008 film), One Week'', ''The War Bride'', ''Six Figures (film), Six Figures'' and ''Saw VI'', and the te ...
as Mette * Richard Clarkin as Helmut * Earl Pastko as Lars * Milton Barnes as Gbatokai * Gray Powell as Kim *
Alex Paxton-Beesley Alex Paxton-Beesley (born September 24, 1986) is a Canadian actress. She is noted for her acting roles in several TV series, including ''Copper'', ''The Strain'', ''Wynonna Earp'', ''Cardinal'' and ''Pure''. Early life Paxton-Beesley was born ...
as Pia * Gary Reineke as Grandfather * Isabella Lobo as Little Girl The creative team was composed of stage manager Robert Harding, set and costume designer John Thompson, lighting designer Andrea Lundy and sound designer Michael Laird. All four team members had previously worked on a TCT production, with Harding, Lundy and Laird all working on the company's debut production, ''
A Whistle in the Dark ''A Whistle in the Dark'' is a play by Tom Murphy that premiered on September 11, 1961 at the Joan Littlewood's Theatre Royal, Stratford East, London, having been rejected by the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. It then went on to be a West End hit. Murp ...
'' (2005), and Harding, Thompson and Laird taking part in ''Marion Bridge'' (2007). The play ran at the Berkeley Street Theatre from 20 November through 13 December 2008, with previews beginning 17 November. The production received the nomination at the 2009
Dora Mavor Moore Awards The Dora Mavor Moore Award (also known as the Dora Award) is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, Dance in Canada, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, ...
in the Independent Theatre category: Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Direction of a Play (Byrne) and Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role (Riccio).{{Cite web , date=8 June 2022 , title=Jersey Boys, Sound of Music, Eternal Hydra, Agokwe, Kushnier Among Dora Award Nominees , url=https://www.playbill.com/article/jersey-boys-sound-of-music-eternal-hydra-agokwe-kushnier-among-dora-award-nominees-com-161518 , access-date=June 8, 2022 , website=Playbill


Awards

The London production was nominated for five
Olivier Awards The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...
in 2005. It also won both the
Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...
and Critics Circle Best Director Awards and the Evening Standard Best Designer award, in addition to the Whatsonstage Theatregoer's Choice Award for Best New Play.


References

British plays Plays based on films 2004 plays