Festen

by David Eldridge
Based on the Dogme film and play by Thomas Vinterberg, Mogens Rukov and Bo hr. Hansen

Directed by Tony Estrella

Festen is presented by arrangement with
Nordiska ApS., Copenhagen
Originally produced in London by
Marla Rubin Productions Ltd**.

Helge is turning sixty, and everyone is coming home for the party. His eldest son, Christian, whose twin sister, Linda, recently committed suicide, will raise the first toast… and reveal a shocking family secret. Trapped for 24 hours within the walls of the lavish country estate—rocked by revelations that shatter the veneer of respectability—even the disbelieving guests are choosing sides as the truth painfully unfolds. Adapted from the award-winning 1998 Danish film by the same title (released in the U.S. as “The Celebration”), Festen redefines tragedy for a modern age. For mature audiences only.

Festen featured in Imagine Magazine, the publication of film, tv and new media production in the Northeast

"This is the aspect of live theater that compels us to wander out int the chill: If you miss a performance that belongs in the record books, you miss a Redwood falling in the New England forest. Don't miss out! Read the article>

"Fireworks aplenty in Gamm's Danish tragedy 'Festen'"

Providence Journal Festen preview (Jan. 12, 2012)
"What the play does that the film can't , and what [adapter David] Eldridge did magnificently, was embrace theatrical convention to reach the same kind of power the film does, employing things that only theater can do."

The Cast


Steve Kidd* Christian	Alexander Platt* Michael	Casey Seymour Kim* Helene

Karen Carpenter Mette	Will Lyman* Helge	Sandra Laub Else

Richard Noble Helmut	Joe Short Lars	Kerry Callery Poul

Tom Oakes Grandfather	Dakota Shepard Pia	David Tessier Kim
Amos Hamrick Gbatokai	Emeline Herreid Little Girl	Ava Wood Little Girl (Understudy)

The Crew

Set Design by Michael McGarty
Costume Design David T. Howard
Lighting Design by Oona Curley
Fight Choreography by Normand Beauregard
Production Management by Jessica Hill*
Stage Management by Stef Work*

Assistant Director, Susie Schutt; Assistant Stage Manager/Props Master, Jessica Hill*; Set Design Assistant, Pamela Megan Estes; Dramaturge, Jennifer Madden; Assistant Stage Manager/Production Assistant, Helen R. Brennan; Wardrobe Assistant Emma Haney

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

**Marla Rubin Productions Ltd/Marla Rubin
Canadian-born producer Marla Rubin’s latest stage production is THE MOUNTAINTOP, which won the Olivier Award for Best New Play of 2010 in London. Rubin discovered the play at the acclaimed London Fringe theatre, Theatre 503, and proceeded to transfer it to The Trafalgar Studios in the West End. She is now producing the show on Broadway, where it is currently playing at the Bernard Jacobs Theatre starring Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett. In addition, the show will soon be embarking on a tour of the US and Canada. As her first theatrical venture, Marla Rubin produced the Almeida Theatre Company’s production of FESTEN in London in 2004-05 (both at The Almeida Theatre and then transferring it to The Lyric Theatre in the West End) to great critical and commercial acclaim [it remains The Almeida Theatre’s biggest hit to date]. FESTEN has gone on to win the London Evening Standard Award (Best Director & Best Design), the London Critics’ Circle Theatre Award (Best Director), the WhatsonstageTheatregoers’ Choice Award (Best New Play), the Sydney Theatre Award (Best Direction, Set Design & Costume Design), alongside receiving five Olivier Award Nominations (including Best New Play) and a New York Outer Critics Circle Award Nomination (Best New Play). In addition to producing the subsequent Broadway production and UK Tour of FESTEN in 2006, Marla Rubin has overseen productions of the show in 25 countries around the world [2005-present] including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, Peru, Sweden, Turkey and South Africa. She is currently working on a stage adaptation of the BAFTA-award winning Swedish film LET THE RIGHT ONE IN in collaboration with the National Theatre of Scotland, where the show will receive its world premiere in early 2013. Rubin is also developing a stage entertainment with world-renowned astrophysicist Brian Cox, on the wonders of astronomy and particle physics.

Her television documentary and film credits as a Producer include the Los Angeles Simon Wiesenthal Centre’s MUSEUM OF TOLERANCE (Academy Award to Museum, Best Documentary), CRIMES OF VIOLENCE for KTLA (Emmy Award, Direction), AMERICA UNDERCOVER for HBO, THE DEMOCRATS’ DILEMMA for the American Public Broadcasting System , HOLLYWOOD BABYLON for cable syndication, and the feature film HONKY [which Rubin sold to 20th Century Fox Studios]. Marla Rubin Productions is developing a new feature film project with 20th Century Fox Studios.