Ellerslie Theatrical Society Presents FESTEN

Ellerslie Theatrical Society presents

FESTEN
Adapted for the stage by David Eldridge
being directed by David Blakey
www.ellerslietheatre.co.nz

8 to 17 June 2017

Based on the award-winning Danish film ‘The Celebration’. Festen sees family and close friends gather to celebrate Helge's 60th birthday. Rocked by the recent death of his twin sister Linda, Christian, the eldest son, raises the first toast. His shocking exposure of a dark family secret deals a staggering blow to their veneer of respectability, tolerance and discretion. Like a Greek tragedy, no character is left unaffected; no reaction predictable. Dark, explosive and powerful, this award-winning play promises to shock and enthrall.

‘Festen is an embodiment of what theatre should be’ ~ Paul Taylor, The Independent

'Electrifying, shocking and profoundly moving... a thrilling modern tragedy' ~ Sunday Times (London)

NOTES ABOUT THE PLAY
Festen is a stunning example of the cycle of denial – both for the characters in the play and the audience. The magnitude of the family secret is exposed in fitful fragments and the denial by those involved is mirrored in the reactions of the guests as the truth slowly unfolds. The party revellers are momentarily inert while the audience is left pondering the choice of the revelation being a truth or the imagination of a disturbed mind. Meanwhile, the celebrations continue in a giddy surreal display of joviality which boarders on the macabre.

FROM THE DIRECTOR
I first saw Festen at the New Venture Theatre in England, as part of the Brighton Festival Fringe, in 2009. The play affected me deeply, so much so that I was determined to direct it in New Zealand when I returned home. It took seven years until I found a theatre company that was prepared to produce Festen.

Festen is everything that I want to see when I go to the theatre. Its characters are diverse. In the Hansen family, the siblings are remarkably different from each other. Its plotting is clever. We are taken from a terrible accusation against Helge, during his 60th birthday party, to an anecdote told about him by his father; despite having just been horrified by one announcement, we find ourselves laughing at the grandfather’s terrible joke.

There is conflict from the start, with Michael arguing with his wife Mette, right until the final line, spoken by Helge’s wife Else. In between, we witness — and, to some extent, we experience — the trials of the family and their closest friends, as they struggle to understand the accusation and to work out if it is true or if it is a product of a deranged imagination. Halfway through the play we are told the true story, and we can then watch as the characters battle their way towards their own discovery of the truth.

It is fair to warn audience members that they will be challenged, and that they will hear unpalatable accusations being made and see characters reacting – often badly – to those accusations. Festen is not a play for the faint-hearted. It provides real challenges to its audiences. It is, to me, what theatre should be: at the far end of the spectrum from comfortable television comedies reproduced on stage.

The Dogme approach
The original movie Festen was the first film made according to Dogme 95 principles, which are rules for locations and props and action. While it is impossible to keep to all of the Dogme principles in a stage play, I decided to try to stick with one of the principles, which is that the production would not contain ‘superficial action’, so some of the action has been curtailed – you will not see the cast eating the dinner in real time - and this meant abandoning another Dogme principle, of not including ‘temporal and geographical alienation’ – and this means that a surreal scene change will happen in front of the audience, and will involve the whole cast. The result has such a fast pace that it needs us — the audience — to remain focused on the action.There is nothing wasted; nothing that could have been removed.

Little Kris
The production team have been careful to keep Zach, who is nine years old, and who plays Michael and Mette’s son, away from the more horrifying moments of the play. He stays in a closed dressing room, with a chaperone, when he is not on stage. You, our audience, will not have that protection from the evil secret of the Hansen family.

PHOTOGRAPHS (links to higher resolution images below) Photographer: Kasia Marcisz
Festen Cast Portrait (Left to right back) David Burchall, David Steadman, Samy Saminathan, Alan Thomson
(Left to right middle) Max Golding, Jenevieve Longhurst, Ksenia Khor, Kristof Haines, Kate Davison,
(Left to right front) Georgina Sherwin, Des Smith
Festen Cast 1 small (Left to right) Des Smith, Georgina Sherwin, Jenevieve Longhurst, Max Golding, David Steadman, Ksenia Khor, David Burchall, Kate Davison, Samy Saminathan, Alan Thomson
The Party small (left to right) Des Smith, Jenevieve Longhurst, Kate Davison, Max Golding, David Steadman, Ksenia Khor, David Burchall

PERFORMANCE DATES
Thursday 8 June 2017 at 8pm (Opening Gala)
Friday 9 to Saturday 10 June at 8pm
Sunday 11 June at 2pm (Matinee)
Tuesday 13 to Friday 16 June at 8pm
Saturday 17 June at 2pm (Matinee) and 8pm (Final Performance)

BOOKINGS
iTICKET – www.iticket.co.nz or phone 09 361 1000 (no booking fees)

TICKETS
Evening $25, Evening Discount $23
Matinee $18, Matinee Discount $16
Discount available to Students with ID, Seniors 65+ years and Community Services card holders

VENUE
Stables Theatre (Ellerslie War Memorial Community Centre), 138 Main Highway & Arthur St, Ellerslie, Auckland

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