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The Company Theatre presents the Canadian premiere of FESTEN,
the critically acclaimed stage adaptation of the controversial
award-winning Danish film, at the Berkeley Street Theatre, 26
Berkeley Street, Toronto. FESTEN
previews from November 17, officially opens Thursday, November
20 and runs until December 13, 2008.
Directed by Jason Byrne
(A Whistle in the Dark) FESTEN
stars veteran stage and screen actor Eric
Peterson (Corner Gas)
as family patriarch and businessman Helge Klingenfeldt with
a star-studded cast that includes Martha
Burns, Nicholas Campbell, Philip Riccio, Allan Hawco, Tara Rosling,
Caroline Cave, Richard Clarkin, Earl Pastko, Milton Barnes,
Gray Powell & Alex Paxton-Beesley.
Helge (Eric Peterson) is celebrating his 60th birthday
at their family-run hotel. Gathered together are his loyal wife
Elsa (Martha Burns), his daughter Helene (Tara Rosling), his
sons Michael (Allan Hawco) and Christian (Philip Riccio), and
their guests. A darkly comic journey into forbidden family territory,
the time has come for the darkest family skeleton to be revealed
and the celebration becomes a weekend that no one will ever
forget.
FESTEN is the British
stage adaptation of the Danish film of the same name (which
was released in North America as The
Celebration). The adaptation, by English playwright David
Eldridge, was first staged by Canadian producer Marla Rubin
at the Almeida Theatre in London, and has since been staged
in many countries around the world.
Thomas Vinterberg's 1998 film Festen
was critically acclaimed and won the Jury Prize at the Cannes
Film Festival that year and is best known for being the first
Dogme 95 film (its full title in Denmark is Dogme
#1 - Festen). Dogme films are governed by a manifesto
that insists on specific production and narrative limitations
(such as banning any post-production sound editing), in part
as a protest against expensive Hollywood-style filmmaking.
The English language adaptation, which retains
the Danish title FESTEN, premiered
at the Almeida Theatre in 2004 in a production directed by Rufus
Norris, before transferring to a successful West End run. It
toured the UK before transferring to Broadway starring Ali MacGraw,
Julianna Margulies & Jeremy Sisto.
Formed in 2004, The Company
Theatre collaborates with Canadian and international
artists to transcend geographical and artistic borders and bring
impeccably performed, thought-provoking theatre to Canadian
audiences.
The Company Theatre's inaugural production was
the Canadian premiere of Tom Murphy's A
Whistle in the Dark directed by award-winning Irish director
Jason Byrne. Hailed by the National Post as a "masterpiece
production of a masterpiece play" A
Whistle in the Dark was nominated for two Dora Mavor
Moore Awards and was remounted in 2007 playing to capacity houses
in both Toronto and St. John's, Newfoundland.
The Company Theatre's second production, the Toronto
premiere of Daniel's MacIvor's Marion
Bridge, directed by the playwright, won a Dora Mavor
Moore Award for Outstanding Lead Performance Female for Sarah
Dodd.
FESTEN
By David Eldridge • Directed by Jason Byrne
Based on the Dogme film and play by Thomas Vinterberg, Mogens
Rukov & Bo hr. Hansen
Starring Eric Peterson, Martha Burns, Nicholas Campbell, Philip
Riccio, Allan Hawco, Tara Rosling, Caroline Cave, Richard Clarkin,
Earl Pastko, Milton Barnes, Gray Powell
& Alex Paxton-Beesley
Set & Costume design by John Thompson
Lighting design by Andrea Lundy • Sound design by Michael
Laird
Berkeley Street Theatre (Downstairs), 26 Berkeley Street, Toronto
Previews Monday, November 17 and runs until Saturday, December
13, 2008
Official Opening Night: Thursday, November
20 @ 8pm
Monday - Saturday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm
Tickets are $20.00 - $40.00 and can be purchased in person at
the Berkeley Street Theatre, 26 Berkeley Street; The St. Lawrence
Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. East;
by calling 416.368.3110 or online at www.canstage.com
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