Festen
Produced by Sydney Theatre Company

Cast: Steve Anderton, John Batchelor, Ron Haddrick, Tom Long, Victoria Longley, Wayne McDaniel, Angela Punch McGregor, Kate Mulvany, Mark Pegler, Anna Lise Phillips, Courtney-Jane Polder, Timara Pollicina, Jeremy Sims, John Stanton, Frank Whitten

Playwright: Thomas Vinterberg, Mogens Rukov and Bo hr. Hansen. A Dramatisation by David Eldridge.
Director: Gale Edwards

Publicist: Sydney Theatre Company (Wesley Slattery, Patrick Shand)

Australian Premiere: Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House, Sydney. November 10, 2005.


The Lowdown:
Based on a film and play by Thomas Vinterberg, Mogens Rukov and Bo hr. Hansen. A wealthy Danish businessman is turning 60, and his nearest and dearest gather to celebrate at one of his opulent country hotels. To all appearances it is a successful and prosperous family, but the surface calm is soon disturbed.


AussieTheatre.com Review
When the patriarch of a large clan turns 60 there’s bound to be a bit of celebrating and reminiscing. In the case of Helge’s (John Stanton) cosmopolitan and wealthy Danish family this means a lavish party in one of their cavernous hotels. Of course with any family reunion there’s always going to be a bit of friction. Older son Michael (Jeremy Sims) seems set to play the role of troublemaker when he turns up uninvited, his behaviour erratic and constantly teetering on the edge of violence. Yet it’s from the comparatively passive younger brother Christian (Tom Long) that trouble comes. The “Truth Speech” that he delivers for Helge’s birthday dinner, detailing the reasons for his twin sister’s recent suicide, leaves the assembled clan feeling bewildered and unbalanced.

David Eldrige’s adaptation of Thomas Vinterberg’s Dogme film is breathtaking. The topic of child abuse is something that we are almost blasé about, so often do we see accounts of it in the media. Here the effect is shocking and raw. The adult Christian is in many ways still a damaged child, and the family’s reaction – to deny his accusations, to abuse and vilify him – compounds his distress. All of the cast deal with this difficult material superbly. Jeremy Sims’ staccato delivery of Michael’s lines is by turns hilarious and a little frightening in his barely contained rage and violence. Tom Long’s Christian is both vulnerable and resolute. John Stanton is brilliant as Helge. For most of the play he is a formidable, domineering figure, but the transformation that Stanton undergoes by the play’s end is a remarkable performance.

There’s something deeply unsettling about Festen. This might seem to be an obvious statement to make about a piece that tackles issues such dark material, but there’s a sense of other-worldliness that wouldn’t be out of place in a macabre fairytale. This is probably because of some cultural aspects that would seem weird or out of place in an Anglo play. Effusively tipsy adults singing odd party songs as they cavort through mansion and forest give the piece a strange, ethereal air. Brian Thomson’s brilliant set design of Bronte-esque floor-to-ceiling windows and billowing curtains really plays up this sense of a strange, Northern European purgatory.

Gale Edwards has skilfully transferred Festen from film to stage, tempering its brutal elements with moments of humour. Festen isn’t an easy bit of theatre, but it is compelling and moving.


Production Shots:
None Available


Further Information:
See www.sydneytheatre.com.au