Masquerade Theatre Company is presenting Festen – the controversial adaptation of the critically acclaimed Danish film The Celebration – to inaugurate the new Blue Box theatre space housed within the company’s premises, M Space, in Msida.
This gripping play follows a series of shocking revelations that occur during the 60th birthday of the patriarch of a chain of restaurants, Helge (Manuel Cauchi). His guests include his sons Christian (Steffan Cheriet Busuttil) and Michael (Andre Agius), and his daughter Helene (Electra Anastasi), but absent from the celebration is Christian’s twin sister, Linda, who recently took her own life.
Christian proposes a toast, where he accuses his father of having abused him and his sister over a period of years 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.
David Eldridge’s stage adaptation hit London’s West End by storm
Festen, adapted for the stage by David Eldridge, is being directed by British director Stephen Oliver. The cast also includes Amanda Conroy from the UK, Bettina Paris, Colin Willis, Victor Debono, John Marinelli, Tina Rizzo, Erin Stuart Palmier, Antonio Rocco from Italy and Francis Nwobodo.
“Tony (Bezzina) and I wanted to inaugurate the Blue Box with a thought-provoking contemporary play that would not only challenge actors and an audience, but would suit the flexible space in the Blue Box,” says Oliver. “I have been a huge fan of Scandanavian film and television and there has been an increase in popularity, certainly in the UK, with TV series such as Borgen, The Killing and The Bridge.”
Festen began its life as a film made under Dogme 95 – a movement by Danish collective of avant-garde film-makers who wanted to strip away any superficial elements of popular film-making and focus entirely on character and reality. Eldridge’s stage adaptation hit London’s West End by storm. The Guardian’s Michael Billington described it as “the play of the year”.
“Festen is a modern day Hamlet. The audience will truly become ‘the fly on the wall’ as they watch the arrivals, the sexual prowess, the intimate feelings and the unveiling of past indiscretions as well as the destruction of the family itself,” concluded Oliver.
Electra Anastasi, who plays Helene, says that the best way to describe Festen is an orgy of emotional insanity.
“It is guaranteed to have its audience at the edge of their seats. I will be surprised if they still have any fingernails left by the end of the show,” she says. “I think everyone was cast very well and everyone has taken their roles very seriously. It has been a wonderful experience watching each person colour their own character with every rehearsal. It is always a great feeling to breathe life into a script and turn it into something that an audience can relate to and feel.”
Andre Agius, who plays Michael, concurs: “This is an amazing play which will catch audiences off guard by what unravels in front of their very eyes. Personally, I think audiences will enjoy witnessing these characters transform into completely different people from the first scene to the last as they confront and individually deal with the events taking place.”
• Festen is being staged at Blue Box, M Space, Msida (opposite Junior College) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and March 21-23 at 8pm. The play contains adult content and is not suitable for those under 15 years of age. Tickets can be bought online at www.ticketline.com.mt, directly from M Space or by calling 7979 3737.