|
SEDOS presents Festen Stage Adaptation by David Eldridge Directed by Anne-Marie Leigh Bridewell Theatre 24 – 28 February 2009
A review by Colette Gunn-Graffy for EXTRA! EXTRA!
How many outsiders looking in on other people’s rituals would fear their participants were a bit mad? Secret handshakes? Lovers’ games? A tuneless song sung over a flaming cake? Although the meaning and origin of these rituals were lost long ago, we continue to engage in them, often because they ground us in normalcy. In the midst of tragedy, for instance, the act of singing ‘Happy Birthday’ can be a way of pushing darkness under the carpet, of proving that everything is as it should be: one joyous celebration. The brilliance of Festen, adapted by David Eldridge from the Dogme film by Thomas Vinterberg, Mogens Rukov and Bo Hr. Hansen, is that it completely undercuts and exposes our dependency on social niceties. In a fabulous country hotel, four generations of a Danish family gather to celebrate the 60th birthday of successful businessman and patriarch, Helge. The guests include Else, Helge’s devoted wife; Helene, his rebellious daughter; his two sons, hot-headed Michael and noticeably troubled Christian; Michael’s wife Mette and their young daughter. Coming together again, the members of the family instinctively slip into their old roles and rituals. They used to live in this hotel, owned and run by Helge, and in addition to the old associations the place itself has for them, they have known the hired staff since they were children. Although the family has recently endured a tragedy – the suicide of Linda, Christian’s twin sister – they do not allow their private tears to interfere with their semi-public (there are other guests in attendance) celebration. Before they have even finished their first course, however, Christian makes a speech in which he accuses his father of sexually abusing him and his late sister. Stunned, the family tries to dismiss and ignore his accusation; they sing childish birthday songs, tell dirty jokes and generally work their way towards pudding. Gradually, these attempts to restore normalcy become more frantic and angry, and the family fabric unravels completely. The success of Anne-Marie Leigh’s production of Festen at the Bridewell owes much to the simple elegance of Bronia Kupczyk’s set design. The stage is split onto two levels: on the lower, the fine dining room with a long table set with silver, glass and flowers; on the upper, a five-star hotel bedroom. It is a subtle visual comment on the fact that, even as the family enjoys their dinner in this pristine environment, they cannot hide from what happens in the bedroom. In one interesting sequence, three scenes take place simultaneously in the bedroom: between Michael and Mette, Helene and the butler Lars, and Christian and Pia, the maid he has known since childhood and also his ex-lover. Each of the pairs is supposed to be in a room of their own – each identical to the other, as are all hotel rooms – but the effect is of many people practically on top of each other, as the same bed on which Pia is trying to comfort Christian is also being used by Michael and Mette to have sex. Although this technique does not quite work – the important scene of discovery between Helene and Lars is almost missed out in the antics of the other two couples – it does emphasise the close proximity of the many personal dramas carried out behind closed doors. As Christian, Panny Skrivanos is a tall, brooding figure, though not an unkind one. He is the wealthy gentleman who treats the hired help with respect, the elder brother who stands up for his younger sister, and the responsible son who is looking after the preparations for his father. Indeed, Skrivanos captures well the inner turmoil of another famous Dane, caught between action and inaction. Though he later claims to loathe his father, Christian seems also to possess a sincere affection – even love – for him. In the end, he cannot quite bring himself to reveal the truth; instead he allows his father to choose his fate – to select either the speech written on green paper or the one on yellow paper (Helge does not know the contents of either, of course). Skrivanos is well-matched by Craig Karpel as Helge, a small, wiry man with a big smile and enormous charisma. The scene in which he calmly lists his son’s childhood crimes and history of mental instability is chilling both in its blitheness and the utter sincerity of Karpel’s delivery. One of the most important rules of social decorum is that there are certain things that one is allowed to think but must never say. In Festen, we see how this attitude conspires to protect not only aggressors and abusers, but also the general public, the friends and family of the victims, who would rather be blind to the truth than have the normalcy of their lives disturbed. In the play’s gutsiest scene, the actors sit around the table, eating in absolute silence for what feels like twenty minutes, though is probably only about five. The characters’ discomfort is palpable, but even more intriguing are the expressions which occasionally flicker across their impassive faces: the thoughts and feelings which they cannot voice, are not allowed to – for then they might have to act on them.
Tuesday – Saturday @ 7:30 pm Tickets £12.50 / £10 concessions Box Office: 020 8858 7755 Venue: Bridewell Theatre, Bride Lane, off Fleet Street, London EC4
Copyright © EXTRA! EXTRA All rights reserved
|
y Couzen