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Festen
Helge, the patriarch of a chain of restaurants, is celebrating his sixtieth birthday and everyone is coming home from the party including Helge's sons, Christian, Michael and his daughter Helene. Missing from the roster of invitees is Christian's twin sister, Linda, who recently committed suicide. The reason for her action and the repercussions from it, form the basis of the shocking and painful events that transpire during a twenty-four hour period. In the midst of dinner, Christian makes a startling accusation and, even as the disbelieving guests are choosing sides, the play slowly unwraps the truth.
David Eldridge powerful new play is adapted from Thomas Vinterborg's screenplay of the very successful film, Dogme.
Published to tie in with Almeida Theatre production in March 2004 directed by Rufus Norris
80 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 3, 2020
Most other reviews have touched on this, but I would love to see this on stage. I'd also enjoy to see the film that the play was adapted from, but I can't easily find it on any platforms as of yet.
This reminded me of the atmosphere of The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - a large family, a big, old, stately house, and lots of secrets. I'd love to read more books that fit into these settings. It was complex and confusing, but compelling. I did find the stage directions overwhelming and boring - of course these would be of far more use if you were actually staging the play.
I think this would be visually fantastic, and the concept of it and the imagery it sparks really bumps it up from 3 to 4 stars.
This reminded me of the atmosphere of The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - a large family, a big, old, stately house, and lots of secrets. I'd love to read more books that fit into these settings. It was complex and confusing, but compelling. I did find the stage directions overwhelming and boring - of course these would be of far more use if you were actually staging the play.
I think this would be visually fantastic, and the concept of it and the imagery it sparks really bumps it up from 3 to 4 stars.
April 8, 2026
Είμαι σε κατάσταση σοκ.
Το έργο αυτό συνδυάζει στοιχεία αρχαίας τραγωδίας και in yer face theatre χωρίς να ξεχνάει την βορειοευρωπαικη νοοτροπία. Όσο το διάβαζα δεν μπορούσα παρά να σκεφτώ πως θα μπορούσε να λειτουργήσει πάνω στη σκηνή. Προσωπικά, το Festen έχει όλα τα πράγματα που μου αρέσουν στο θέατρο: παράλληλες δράσεις, ωμό και ειλικρινή διάλογο, ρεαλιστικό setting, το γεγονός ότι το έργο διαδραματίζεται σε λίγες ώρες και φυσικά κορύφωση πριν την εναλλαγή των πραξεων.
Το Festen σου προκαλεί μία δυσφορία αλλά γίνεται με τέτοιο τρόπο, ώστε να μην μπορείς παρά να συνεχίσεις να κοιτάς από την κλειδαρότρυπα.
Το έργο αυτό συνδυάζει στοιχεία αρχαίας τραγωδίας και in yer face theatre χωρίς να ξεχνάει την βορειοευρωπαικη νοοτροπία. Όσο το διάβαζα δεν μπορούσα παρά να σκεφτώ πως θα μπορούσε να λειτουργήσει πάνω στη σκηνή. Προσωπικά, το Festen έχει όλα τα πράγματα που μου αρέσουν στο θέατρο: παράλληλες δράσεις, ωμό και ειλικρινή διάλογο, ρεαλιστικό setting, το γεγονός ότι το έργο διαδραματίζεται σε λίγες ώρες και φυσικά κορύφωση πριν την εναλλαγή των πραξεων.
Το Festen σου προκαλεί μία δυσφορία αλλά γίνεται με τέτοιο τρόπο, ώστε να μην μπορείς παρά να συνεχίσεις να κοιτάς από την κλειδαρότρυπα.
July 26, 2020
What the fk! An extremely well written play, but I'd not recommend it as an early morning read or something to indulge in before sleep. I did not expect it to be that 'dark'. 'Dark' is probably not the best word to describe it, but let's just say that it's like a Southern Gothic play/work of literature, except it's Danish. It was the first thing I'd read this morning, and as much as I'm impressed with it, it also puts me in a I-need-a-shower-right-now kind of mood even though I've just had one.
I've taken one star off because I personally prefer something with more 'stage directions'/descriptions; the play is packed with 'speeches' (in a room full of many characters who are conversing with one another) and/but a lot of on-going action. Even though I caught on with it just fine, I'd imagined it'd be easy to get lost/confused for someone who isn't familiar with reading plays.
I've taken one star off because I personally prefer something with more 'stage directions'/descriptions; the play is packed with 'speeches' (in a room full of many characters who are conversing with one another) and/but a lot of on-going action. Even though I caught on with it just fine, I'd imagined it'd be easy to get lost/confused for someone who isn't familiar with reading plays.
May 11, 2018
Μια οικογενειακή γιορτή (γενέθλια του πατέρα-αφέντη), στα πλαίσια του Δανέζικου Δόγματος. Ανοίγουν οι ντουλάπες και βγαίνει το αποτρόπαιο παρελθόν μιάς αστικής οικογένειας. Μάλλον αποτέλεσε έμπνευση για τον Κυνόδοντα του Λάνθιμου.
(μετά από την αναφορά του κατ' εξακολούθηση βιασμού από τον πατέρα, 2 εκ των παιδιών του, ο συμποσιάρχης λέει:) "Όλα αυτά είναι πολύ συγκινητικά. Πιστεύω ότι όλοι μας είμαστε βαθιά συγκινημένοι. Παρ' όλα αυτά καθήκον μου να σας προτείνω...έναν καφέ, ίσως λίγη μουσική...ένα πούρο;"
(μετά από την αναφορά του κατ' εξακολούθηση βιασμού από τον πατέρα, 2 εκ των παιδιών του, ο συμποσιάρχης λέει:) "Όλα αυτά είναι πολύ συγκινητικά. Πιστεύω ότι όλοι μας είμαστε βαθιά συγκινημένοι. Παρ' όλα αυτά καθήκον μου να σας προτείνω...έναν καφέ, ίσως λίγη μουσική...ένα πούρο;"
May 24, 2019
Την εξαιρετική ομωνυμη ταινία την είχα δει πριν χρόνια και πρόσφατα λοιπόν ανακάλυψα τη συγκεκριμένη έκδοση, που είναι θεατρική διασκευή, όπως παίχτηκε στο Κρατικό Θέατρο Βορείου Ελλάδος. Συγκλονιστικο κείμενο.
Για όσους δεν γνωρίζουν την υπόθεση, ορίστε με λίγα λογια:
Ο πατέρας της οικογένειας καλεί οικογένεια και μερικούς φίλους για να γιορτάσει τα 60α γενέθλια του. Στο δείπνο όμως γίνεται μια σειρά σοκαριστικων αποκαλύψεων που αναστατώνει τους πάντες, αλλάζοντας για πάντα τις ζωές τους.
Για όσους δεν γνωρίζουν την υπόθεση, ορίστε με λίγα λογια:
Ο πατέρας της οικογένειας καλεί οικογένεια και μερικούς φίλους για να γιορτάσει τα 60α γενέθλια του. Στο δείπνο όμως γίνεται μια σειρά σοκαριστικων αποκαλύψεων που αναστατώνει τους πάντες, αλλάζοντας για πάντα τις ζωές τους.
January 4, 2022
Shockingly powerful; the play of a dysfunctional family that easily reflects on so many topics that are today still relevant: the totalitarian authority of the patriarch in a modern family. Gripping to the last that will genuinely make you want to read on.
A satisfying end? No. But one that is mirrored in the society of today and one in which differs from Greek tragedies of similar nature.
A satisfying end? No. But one that is mirrored in the society of today and one in which differs from Greek tragedies of similar nature.
November 25, 2022
Festen is an enormously powerful play, and it packs a giant emotional wallop. It's also a terrifically engaging suspense drama.
You will have to take my word for a lot of the foregoing, by the way, because like any good thriller, the heart of Festen is a secret--or rather, a complicated web of secrets--that I will in no fashion give away here. The play, which is based on a Danish film and play by Thomas Vinterberg, Mogens Rukov, and Bo Hr. Hansen, as dramatized by David Eldridge, takes place at the 60th birthday party of Helge Hansen. ("Festen" is translated as "The Celebration.") Helge is a successful, very rich entrepreneur, and gathered here for this event are his wife, Else; his three children, Christian, Helene, and Michael; Michael's wife, Mette, and their daughter; his father; an old friend and lodge brother named Poul; and Helmut, a former employee who is now Managing Director of Hansen's company. Also in attendance are the butler, Lars, the maid, Pia, and the chef, Kim; later a surprise guest named Gbatokai will turn up.
What we notice almost immediately about the Hansens is their sense of entitlement and privilege. Else spends most of her energy maintaining decorum, regardless of what is going on around her. Michael, the youngest child, snaps at the servants and spars (physically as well as verbally) with his wife. Helene, the middle child, fancies herself a champion of the underdog but thinks nothing of ordering Lars about. Christian, effortlessly suave in black tie, seems preoccupied; his twin sister, Linda, has died recently, and perhaps that's what's weighing on his mind. Helge is affability personified.
We're aware that things are off-kilter by the time the dinner party begins and then quickly goes awry when Christian makes his toast. He lets his father choose from one of the two speeches he says he's prepared. Helge chooses the wrong one, as it turns out (though probably he has no real choice at all).
And then, after Christian says what he has to say, the party starts to collapse under its own weight. The table eventually flies away; the whole house seems to implode, in fact, as the family itself starts to rot away from the systemic corruption that's revealed to be at its core.
What's so ingenious about Festen is the way that it gets at this insidious, hidden-away truth, using theatrical models that look familiar and then suddenly turn on us, startlingly, joltingly. The Scandanavian setting and the forced jocularity of the characters makes us feel in places like we're inside an Ibsen play; the weird juxtapositions of characters of different classes and ages remind us of Chekhov (Poul, is a completely enigmatic presence, just like all those once-prosperous neighbors who are always inexplicably hanging around in plays like The Cherry Orchard and The Seagull). Even the servants are in on it--up to their eyeballs, in fact, in complicity. Eldridge lulls us into a false sense of security and then pulls us down into the muck. The shock of recognition is palpable and dangerous.
You will have to take my word for a lot of the foregoing, by the way, because like any good thriller, the heart of Festen is a secret--or rather, a complicated web of secrets--that I will in no fashion give away here. The play, which is based on a Danish film and play by Thomas Vinterberg, Mogens Rukov, and Bo Hr. Hansen, as dramatized by David Eldridge, takes place at the 60th birthday party of Helge Hansen. ("Festen" is translated as "The Celebration.") Helge is a successful, very rich entrepreneur, and gathered here for this event are his wife, Else; his three children, Christian, Helene, and Michael; Michael's wife, Mette, and their daughter; his father; an old friend and lodge brother named Poul; and Helmut, a former employee who is now Managing Director of Hansen's company. Also in attendance are the butler, Lars, the maid, Pia, and the chef, Kim; later a surprise guest named Gbatokai will turn up.
What we notice almost immediately about the Hansens is their sense of entitlement and privilege. Else spends most of her energy maintaining decorum, regardless of what is going on around her. Michael, the youngest child, snaps at the servants and spars (physically as well as verbally) with his wife. Helene, the middle child, fancies herself a champion of the underdog but thinks nothing of ordering Lars about. Christian, effortlessly suave in black tie, seems preoccupied; his twin sister, Linda, has died recently, and perhaps that's what's weighing on his mind. Helge is affability personified.
We're aware that things are off-kilter by the time the dinner party begins and then quickly goes awry when Christian makes his toast. He lets his father choose from one of the two speeches he says he's prepared. Helge chooses the wrong one, as it turns out (though probably he has no real choice at all).
And then, after Christian says what he has to say, the party starts to collapse under its own weight. The table eventually flies away; the whole house seems to implode, in fact, as the family itself starts to rot away from the systemic corruption that's revealed to be at its core.
What's so ingenious about Festen is the way that it gets at this insidious, hidden-away truth, using theatrical models that look familiar and then suddenly turn on us, startlingly, joltingly. The Scandanavian setting and the forced jocularity of the characters makes us feel in places like we're inside an Ibsen play; the weird juxtapositions of characters of different classes and ages remind us of Chekhov (Poul, is a completely enigmatic presence, just like all those once-prosperous neighbors who are always inexplicably hanging around in plays like The Cherry Orchard and The Seagull). Even the servants are in on it--up to their eyeballs, in fact, in complicity. Eldridge lulls us into a false sense of security and then pulls us down into the muck. The shock of recognition is palpable and dangerous.
April 18, 2023
CW: CSA, incest. Someone recommended this in context of HBO's Succession, which deals with similar themes. There's a mounting sense of dread after Christian reads his letter and you realize that no one believes him, mostly because they don't want to. Chilling, heartbreaking, I had to put this down frequently to breathe. "Somehow, I've never understood why you did it. I've never understood why you did it." "It was all you were good for."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 24, 2025
woof, complicated feelings after this one for sure. Parts I really like and other parts...I don't know how to feel about them. It would definitely make audiences think, but I can see this also being pretty challenging to produce - absolutely need a practiced director and a great intimacy director too.
Worth the read, for sure!
Worth the read, for sure!
February 8, 2018
very depressing, and rather bleak.
September 17, 2021
One of the few times that a movie precedes the book. It also excels at many things. Last but not least, overlapping dialogues are better integrated in the movie.
October 14, 2023
Hadn’t read a play since school. Touching and sad.
December 18, 2023
Excited to be playing this! ✨🤞
May 25, 2011
England 2005. Lyric Shaftesbury Theatre. April 4.
Humor made it real, only take tragedy for so lone, abuse didn't get excepted in the male roles, female roles represented by male counterparts, women kill self where women deal, bigotry and racism in family, long cycle of family abuse, play ends with "what now," little girl parallel to Linda, opened act 2 with new character, Kye audience on stage with real expressions, Kye opens up tight family would with previous connection to Christian. 3 songs original to add to ritualistic family aspects, no sexual boundaries, voice control, didn't get rapped in reality, empty and hollow sex giving deserted house haunted, set communicated mood with environment, great use of silence, intense dramatic points with humor, facial expressions and gestures during dinner silence, expressionistic sound design, seamless play.
Humor made it real, only take tragedy for so lone, abuse didn't get excepted in the male roles, female roles represented by male counterparts, women kill self where women deal, bigotry and racism in family, long cycle of family abuse, play ends with "what now," little girl parallel to Linda, opened act 2 with new character, Kye audience on stage with real expressions, Kye opens up tight family would with previous connection to Christian. 3 songs original to add to ritualistic family aspects, no sexual boundaries, voice control, didn't get rapped in reality, empty and hollow sex giving deserted house haunted, set communicated mood with environment, great use of silence, intense dramatic points with humor, facial expressions and gestures during dinner silence, expressionistic sound design, seamless play.
December 5, 2025
beautiful and compelling. festen has been my favorite movie of all time ever since i first saw it and i'm glad to know its written form holds the same merits the movie has. it's not the original script but it is a faithful one and to think i put off reading this for so long because i love the movie so much (did you ever get that feeling of loving and adoring something so much it makes you sick just seeing anything related to it, ridiculous but that's how i feel with anything related to festen (if you haven't watch the movie yet please do, it is a masterpiece and a work of a genius)) the play is close to what vinterberg intended and i did not expect it to evoke this much emotion out of me like the movie does yet it managed to with its less than 80 pages, not a wasted line in sight.
March 9, 2016
This play had my chin on the floor from very close to the beginning right to the very end. It was shocking, it felt very stark at times but was saved somewhat by small moments of humour. Definitely not for the faint hearted, but those who don't mind more intense and dark themes may well love this play.
Read
July 12, 2009Can see why this is a great play to perform, though not sure the provinces would be ready for the sex scene.Not sure it taght me much about the subject or how it is covered up
April 26, 2016
I'm sure this is all very tragically enthralling on stage, but reading it rather than viewing it has left an awful taste in my mouth. An excellent play. I hope I never have to read it again.
onstage
July 14, 2018Well that was an uncomfortable afternoon at the theatre.
Poul = favorite character.
(I don't think I should rate this book, as the script wasn't my main problem with this performance.)
Poul = favorite character.
(I don't think I should rate this book, as the script wasn't my main problem with this performance.)
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews