The Celebration
Encyclopedia
The Celebration is a 1998 Danish
film, produced by Nimbus Film
and directed by Thomas Vinterberg
. Its original Danish
title is Festen (The Banquet or The Celebration), and it was released under this title in the UK
.
The film tells the story of a family gathering to celebrate their father's 60th birthday. At the dinner, the eldest son publicly accuses his father of sexually abusing both him and his twin sister (who had recently committed suicide). Vinterberg was inspired to write it with Mogens Rukov
, based on a hoax broadcast by a Danish radio station.
It was the first film created under Dogme 95
rules, a movement of young Danish filmmakers who preferred simple production values and naturalistic performances.
), Christian (Ulrich Thomsen
), his sullen eldest son, his well-traveled daughter Helene (Paprika Steen
), and Michael (Thomas Bo Larsen
), his boorish younger son. Christian's twin sister, Linda, recently committed suicide at the hotel.
Before the celebration dinner, Helene finds Linda's suicide note, but hides it after becoming upset by the contents (which are not revealed to the audience). Michael fights with his wife, who he earlier abandoned on the roadside with their three children, and then makes love to her. Michael later is pulled aside by a waitress that he had an affair with (and had gotten pregnant) and then beats her when she disparages Helge. Later, during dinner, Christian makes a speech to the family in which he accuses his father Helge of sexually abusing
him and his late sister Linda. Helge's family and friends initially dismiss the accusations as absurd, a joke, or a figment of Christian's imagination. In a private conversation in the pantry, a seemingly baffled Helge asks Christian about his motivations for slandering him, and a dazed Christian recants his accusation. However, Christian is spurred to further action by hotel chef Kim (Bjarne Henriksen), a childhood friend who knows about the abuse. Christian then stands up and continues his toast by accusing Helge of causing Linda's death. Helge speaks to Christian alone and threateningly offers to announce in a toast Christian's troubled personal history, impotence with women and his perhaps inappropriately close relationship with his late sister, Linda. Christian says nothing in response to the threat. Further exacerbating the tensions of the day, Helene's African-American boyfriend Gbatokai (Gbatokai Dakinah) shows up, enraging the racist Michael who later leads most of the partygoers in a racist children's song to offend him. During a toast, Else makes a series of back-handed compliments towards her children, accusing Christian of having an overactive imagination as a child and asking him to apologize for his earlier accusation. Christian responds by accusing her of interrupting Helge during one of the rapes, yet not interfering with the incident, and calling her a "cunt". Michael and two other guest violently eject Christian from the hotel. When Christian then just walks back in, Michael and his two cronies then beat up Christian and tie him to a tree in the nearby woods.
Ultimately, Christian's accusations are confirmed when Helene, apparently finally worn down by guilt, reads Linda's suicide note aloud to the assembled guests. Linda's note states that she decided to kill herself after feeling overwhelmed by dreams in which her father was molesting her again. In a fit of anger, Helge admits to the abuse in front of all the guests, saying that it was all Christian was good for. He then leaves the dining room with the guests stunned. Christian faints after walking out of the dining hall and imagines seeing Linda. When he awakes, he learns from Helene that Michael is missing. We learn that the drunken Michael has called Helge outside and then ragefully beats his father severely, promising him that he will never see his grandchildren again.
The next morning, Helge tries to apologize to the entire group. Michael coolly dismisses their father from the table, pointing out that he is interrupting their breakfast. Christian reveals that he is going back to Paris, and asks one of the waitresses, Pia (who has known Michael for years), to accompany him. She accepts, and the film ends with the rest of the family and guests eating breakfast nonchalantly.
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 the expensive Hollywood-style film-making. The film was shot on a Sony DCR-PC7E Handycam on standard Mini-DV cassettes.
to write a screenplay on the events, as if it were the young man's own story.
, 91% of critics gave the film a positive review. Roger Ebert
gave the film three out of four stars, writing that the film
Psychologist Richard Gartner
, who specializes in counseling men who were sexually abused as children, writes that The Celebration is a praiseworthy film that accurately depicts the consequences of sexual abuse:
The English-language adaptation, which retains the Danish title Festen, was written by David Eldridge
. It premiered at the Almeida Theatre
in 2004 in a production directed by Rufus Norris
, before transferring to a successful West End
run at the Lyric Theatre
, London
until April 2005. It commenced a UK tour in February 2006, before transferring to Broadway
. Despite its great success in London, it closed after only 49 performances on Broadway, ending on May 20, 2006. It opened in Melbourne, Australia in July 2006 starring Jason Donovan
. An Irish production (under the title of Festen) ran in the Gate Theatre, Dublin, from September 2006 to November 2006.
In 2006, a Mexican adaptation opened, starring Mexican actor Diego Luna
. In September 2007 a Peruvian production opened starring Paul Vega and Hernan Romero under the direction of Chela de Ferrari.
The Company Theatre mounted the Canadian premiere of Festen in November 2008 at the Berkeley Street Theatre in Toronto. This production was directed by Jason Byrne and starred Eric Peterson
, Rosemary Dunsmore, Nicholas Campbell
, Philip Riccio, Allan Hawco
, Tara Rosling, Caroline Cave, Richard Clarkin, Earl Pastko
, Milton Barnes, Gray Powell and Alex Paxton-Beesley.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
film, produced by Nimbus Film
Nimbus Film
Nimbus Film is Denmark's third largest film production company.Nimbus Film has to date produced more than 30 feature films and many shorts and documentaries....
and directed by Thomas Vinterberg
Thomas Vinterberg
Thomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production....
. Its original Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
title is Festen (The Banquet or The Celebration), and it was released under this title in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The film tells the story of a family gathering to celebrate their father's 60th birthday. At the dinner, the eldest son publicly accuses his father of sexually abusing both him and his twin sister (who had recently committed suicide). Vinterberg was inspired to write it with Mogens Rukov
Mogens Rukov
Mogens Rukov is a Danish screenwriter.He achieved a university degree in Nordic filology and film in 1974.After that he became a teacher of the screenwriting department at the National Film School of Denmark, Copenhagen....
, based on a hoax broadcast by a Danish radio station.
It was the first film created under Dogme 95
Dogme 95
Dogme 95 was an avant-garde filmmaking movement started in 1995 by the Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vow of Chastity". These were rules to create filmmaking based on the traditional values of story, acting, and theme, and...
rules, a movement of young Danish filmmakers who preferred simple production values and naturalistic performances.
Plot
Respected family patriarch and businessman Helge (Henning Moritzen) is celebrating his 60th birthday at the family-run hotel. Gathered together amongst many family and friends are his wife Else (Birthe NeumannBirthe Neumann
Birthe Neumann is a Danish actress.In 1972 she graduated from the Danish National School of Theatre, and was shortly afterwards employed as an actress at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen....
), Christian (Ulrich Thomsen
Ulrich Thomsen
Ulrich Thomsen is a Danish actor.Thomsen was born in Fyn, Denmark and graduated from the Danish National School of Theatre and Contemporary Dance in 1993, after which playing on several theatres in Copenhagen, such as Dr. Dantes Aveny, Mungo Park and Østre Gasværks Teater.His film debut was in...
), his sullen eldest son, his well-traveled daughter Helene (Paprika Steen
Paprika Steen
Paprika Steen is a Danish actress and film director best known for her performances in the films Festen, The Idiots and Open Hearts...
), and Michael (Thomas Bo Larsen
Thomas Bo Larsen
Thomas Bo Larsen is a Danish film actor, born in Gladsaxe, Denmark.He's been married to Patricia Schumann since 2001, and currently lives in Copenhagen....
), his boorish younger son. Christian's twin sister, Linda, recently committed suicide at the hotel.
Before the celebration dinner, Helene finds Linda's suicide note, but hides it after becoming upset by the contents (which are not revealed to the audience). Michael fights with his wife, who he earlier abandoned on the roadside with their three children, and then makes love to her. Michael later is pulled aside by a waitress that he had an affair with (and had gotten pregnant) and then beats her when she disparages Helge. Later, during dinner, Christian makes a speech to the family in which he accuses his father Helge of sexually abusing
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
him and his late sister Linda. Helge's family and friends initially dismiss the accusations as absurd, a joke, or a figment of Christian's imagination. In a private conversation in the pantry, a seemingly baffled Helge asks Christian about his motivations for slandering him, and a dazed Christian recants his accusation. However, Christian is spurred to further action by hotel chef Kim (Bjarne Henriksen), a childhood friend who knows about the abuse. Christian then stands up and continues his toast by accusing Helge of causing Linda's death. Helge speaks to Christian alone and threateningly offers to announce in a toast Christian's troubled personal history, impotence with women and his perhaps inappropriately close relationship with his late sister, Linda. Christian says nothing in response to the threat. Further exacerbating the tensions of the day, Helene's African-American boyfriend Gbatokai (Gbatokai Dakinah) shows up, enraging the racist Michael who later leads most of the partygoers in a racist children's song to offend him. During a toast, Else makes a series of back-handed compliments towards her children, accusing Christian of having an overactive imagination as a child and asking him to apologize for his earlier accusation. Christian responds by accusing her of interrupting Helge during one of the rapes, yet not interfering with the incident, and calling her a "cunt". Michael and two other guest violently eject Christian from the hotel. When Christian then just walks back in, Michael and his two cronies then beat up Christian and tie him to a tree in the nearby woods.
Ultimately, Christian's accusations are confirmed when Helene, apparently finally worn down by guilt, reads Linda's suicide note aloud to the assembled guests. Linda's note states that she decided to kill herself after feeling overwhelmed by dreams in which her father was molesting her again. In a fit of anger, Helge admits to the abuse in front of all the guests, saying that it was all Christian was good for. He then leaves the dining room with the guests stunned. Christian faints after walking out of the dining hall and imagines seeing Linda. When he awakes, he learns from Helene that Michael is missing. We learn that the drunken Michael has called Helge outside and then ragefully beats his father severely, promising him that he will never see his grandchildren again.
The next morning, Helge tries to apologize to the entire group. Michael coolly dismisses their father from the table, pointing out that he is interrupting their breakfast. Christian reveals that he is going back to Paris, and asks one of the waitresses, Pia (who has known Michael for years), to accompany him. She accepts, and the film ends with the rest of the family and guests eating breakfast nonchalantly.
Cast
- Ulrich ThomsenUlrich ThomsenUlrich Thomsen is a Danish actor.Thomsen was born in Fyn, Denmark and graduated from the Danish National School of Theatre and Contemporary Dance in 1993, after which playing on several theatres in Copenhagen, such as Dr. Dantes Aveny, Mungo Park and Østre Gasværks Teater.His film debut was in...
as Christian Klingenfeldt-Hansen - Henning Moritzen as Helge, the father
- Thomas Bo LarsenThomas Bo LarsenThomas Bo Larsen is a Danish film actor, born in Gladsaxe, Denmark.He's been married to Patricia Schumann since 2001, and currently lives in Copenhagen....
as Michael, the brother - Paprika SteenPaprika SteenPaprika Steen is a Danish actress and film director best known for her performances in the films Festen, The Idiots and Open Hearts...
as Helene, the sister - Birthe NeumannBirthe NeumannBirthe Neumann is a Danish actress.In 1972 she graduated from the Danish National School of Theatre, and was shortly afterwards employed as an actress at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen....
as Else, the mother - Trine DyrholmTrine DyrholmTrine Dyrholm is a Danish actress, singer and songwriter. Dyrholm received national attention when she placed third in the Danish, Dansk Melodi Grand Prix as a 14-year-old singer. Four years later, she again achieved national recognition when she won the Bodil Award for Best Actress in her debut...
as Pia - Helle Dolleris as Mette
- Therese Glahn as Michelle
- Klaus BondamKlaus BondamKlaus Bondam is a Danish actor and politician.Klaus Bondam got his breakthrough in the movie Festen and has starred in the series Langt fra Las Vegas as the sexually driven boss Buckingham...
as Helmut von Sachs, the toastmaster - Bjarne Henriksen as Kim
- Gbatokai Dakinah as Gbatokai
- Lasse Lunderskov as The uncle
- Lars BrygmannLars Brygmann- Career :Lars Brygmann was educated at the private actors school Tsarens Hof in 1987 and has since then been connected with the theaters Får302, Dr. Dante, Mungo Park, and Østre Gasværk Teater. His debut on film and TV was in 1995.- Family :...
as Lars, the receptionist - Lene Laub Oksen as Linda, the dead sister
- Linda Laursen as Birthe
- John Boas as Grandfather
- Erna Boas as Grandmother
Style
The Celebration is best known for being the first Dogme 95Dogme 95
Dogme 95 was an avant-garde filmmaking movement started in 1995 by the Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vow of Chastity". These were rules to create filmmaking based on the traditional values of story, acting, and theme, and...
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 the expensive Hollywood-style film-making. The film was shot on a Sony DCR-PC7E Handycam on standard Mini-DV cassettes.
Inspiration
Some years after making the film, Vinterberg told about its inspiration: A young man told the story on a radio show of the host Keld Koplev. Vinterberg was told about it by the friend of a psychiatric nurse who claimed to have treated the young man. He listened to the radio programme and asked the scriptwriter Mogens RukovMogens Rukov
Mogens Rukov is a Danish screenwriter.He achieved a university degree in Nordic filology and film in 1974.After that he became a teacher of the screenwriting department at the National Film School of Denmark, Copenhagen....
to write a screenplay on the events, as if it were the young man's own story.
Reception
The Celebration has earned mostly positive reviews. Based on 34 reviews collected by the film review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, 91% of critics gave the film a positive review. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film three out of four stars, writing that the film
Psychologist Richard Gartner
Richard Gartner
Richard B. Gartner is a clinical psychologist who was trained both as a family therapist and an interpersonal psychoanalyst. One of the founders of MaleSurvivor: the National Organization on Male Sexual Victimization [www.malesurvivor.org], and he is a Past President of the organization and is now...
, who specializes in counseling men who were sexually abused as children, writes that The Celebration is a praiseworthy film that accurately depicts the consequences of sexual abuse:
Awards
The Celebration won the following awards:- Amanda Awards, NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
(1998): Best Nordic Feature Film - Thomas VinterbergThomas VinterbergThomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production.... - Bodil AwardsBodil AwardsThe Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given by Denmark's National Association of Film Critics . The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in the Imperial Cinema in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe...
(1999):
-
-
- Best Actor - Ulrich ThomsenUlrich ThomsenUlrich Thomsen is a Danish actor.Thomsen was born in Fyn, Denmark and graduated from the Danish National School of Theatre and Contemporary Dance in 1993, after which playing on several theatres in Copenhagen, such as Dr. Dantes Aveny, Mungo Park and Østre Gasværks Teater.His film debut was in...
- Best Film - Thomas VinterbergThomas VinterbergThomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production....
- Canberra International Film FestivalCanberra International Film FestivalThe Canberra International Film Festival began in 1996. All the films shown have been Canberra premieres, and many of them have also been Australian premieres.- History :...
(1999): Audience Award - Thomas VinterbergThomas VinterbergThomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production.... - Cannes Film Festival1998 Cannes Film FestivalThe 51st Cannes Film Festival was held on May 13-24, 1998. The Palme d'Or went to the Greek film Mia aioniotita kai mia mera by Theo Angelopoulos.- Jury :*Martin Scorsese *Alain Corneau *Chiara Mastroianni...
(1998): Jury Prize - Thomas VinterbergThomas VinterbergThomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production....
(Tied with La Classe de Neige (1998)) - European Film Awards (1998): European Discovery of the Year - Thomas VinterbergThomas VinterbergThomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production....
(Tied with Vie rêvée des anges, La (1998)) - Gijón International Film FestivalGijón International Film FestivalGijón International Film Festival was created in 1963. It was born as an initiative of the local authority and it was sponsored mainly by Gijón City Council and the then Caja de Ahorros de Asturias ; both institutions are still the main organisers of the festival, along with funding from the...
(1998): Best Director - Thomas VinterbergThomas VinterbergThomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production.... - Guldbagge Awards (1999): Best Foreign Film - Thomas VinterbergThomas VinterbergThomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production....
- Independent Spirit AwardsIndependent Spirit AwardsThe Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
(1999): Best Foreign Film - Thomas VinterbergThomas VinterbergThomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production.... - Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards (1998): Best Foreign Film - Thomas VinterbergThomas VinterbergThomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production....
- Lübeck Nordic Film Days (1998):
- Canberra International Film Festival
- Audience Prize of the "Lübecker Nachrichten" - Thomas VinterbergThomas VinterbergThomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production....
- Baltic Film Prize for a Nordic Feature Film - Thomas VinterbergThomas VinterbergThomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production....
- Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Thomas VinterbergThomas VinterbergThomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production....
- New York Film Critics Circle AwardsNew York Film Critics Circle AwardsNew York Film Critics' Circle Awards are given annually to honor excellence in cinema worldwide by an organization of film reviewers from New York City-based publications. It is considered one of the most important precursors to the Academy Awards....
(1998): Best Foreign Language Film - Thomas VinterbergThomas VinterbergThomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production.... - Norwegian International Film Festival (1999): Best Foreign Film of the Year - Thomas VinterbergThomas VinterbergThomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production....
- Robert Awards (1999):
- New York Film Critics Circle Awards
- Best Actor - Ulrich ThomsenUlrich ThomsenUlrich Thomsen is a Danish actor.Thomsen was born in Fyn, Denmark and graduated from the Danish National School of Theatre and Contemporary Dance in 1993, after which playing on several theatres in Copenhagen, such as Dr. Dantes Aveny, Mungo Park and Østre Gasværks Teater.His film debut was in...
- Best Cinematography - Anthony Dod MantleAnthony Dod MantleAnthony Dod Mantle BSC is a British cinematographer notable for his work in digital cinematography.-Career:Dod Mantle directed photography on three Dogme 95 films and the first two episodes of Wallander. He used the Red One digital camera on Wallander, the first British television production to do...
- Best Editing - Valdís ÓskarsdóttirValdís ÓskarsdóttirValdís Óskarsdóttir is an Icelandic film editor whose work includes The Celebration, Les Misérables, Finding Forrester and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind....
- Best Film - Thomas VinterbergThomas VinterbergThomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production....
- Best Screenplay - Thomas VinterbergThomas VinterbergThomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production....
, Mogens RukovMogens RukovMogens Rukov is a Danish screenwriter.He achieved a university degree in Nordic filology and film in 1974.After that he became a teacher of the screenwriting department at the National Film School of Denmark, Copenhagen.... - Best Supporting Actor - Thomas Bo LarsenThomas Bo LarsenThomas Bo Larsen is a Danish film actor, born in Gladsaxe, Denmark.He's been married to Patricia Schumann since 2001, and currently lives in Copenhagen....
- Best Supporting Actress - Birthe NeumannBirthe NeumannBirthe Neumann is a Danish actress.In 1972 she graduated from the Danish National School of Theatre, and was shortly afterwards employed as an actress at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen....
- Rotterdam International Film Festival (1999): Audience Award - Thomas VinterbergThomas VinterbergThomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production....
- São Paulo International Film FestivalSão Paulo International Film FestivalThe São Paulo International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in São Paulo, Brazil since 1976. In 2004 Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami was a member of the jury.-International Jury Award:*2001: The New Country ...
(1998): Honorable Mention - Thomas VinterbergThomas VinterbergThomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production....
- Rotterdam International Film Festival (1999): Audience Award - Thomas Vinterberg
- Best Actor - Ulrich Thomsen
-
Stage adaptations
The Celebration has frequently been adapted for the stage; as of 2008 there have been adaptations in more than 15 languages.The English-language adaptation, which retains the Danish title Festen, was written by David Eldridge
David Eldridge
David Eldridge is the earliest known person of European descent to die in the Western Reserve, and the first person to be buried in the newly-created city of Cleveland...
. It premiered at the Almeida Theatre
Almeida Theatre
The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325 seat studio theatre with an international reputation which takes its name from the street in which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diverse range of drama and holds an annual summer festival of...
in 2004 in a production directed by Rufus Norris
Rufus Norris
Rufus Norris is an award-winning British theatre director who trained as an actor at RADA before turning to directing.In 2001 he won the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Newcomer for his production of Afore Night Came at the Young Vic....
, before transferring to a successful West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
run at the Lyric Theatre
Lyric Theatre (London)
The Lyric Theatre is a West End theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster.Designed by architect C. J. Phipps, it was built by producer Henry Leslie with profits from the Alfred Cellier and B. C. Stephenson hit, Dorothy, which he transferred from the Prince of Wales Theatre to open...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
until April 2005. It commenced a UK tour in February 2006, before transferring to Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. Despite its great success in London, it closed after only 49 performances on Broadway, ending on May 20, 2006. It opened in Melbourne, Australia in July 2006 starring Jason Donovan
Jason Donovan
Jason Donovan is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 million records, and his début album Ten Good Reasons was one of the highest-selling albums of 1989...
. An Irish production (under the title of Festen) ran in the Gate Theatre, Dublin, from September 2006 to November 2006.
In 2006, a Mexican adaptation opened, starring Mexican actor Diego Luna
Diego Luna
Diego Luna is a Mexican actor known for his childhood telenovela work, a starring role in the film Y tu mamá también, and supporting roles in American films. He is also known for his roles in Rudo y Cursi and Milk. Luna also had minor roles in Frida and Before Night Falls...
. In September 2007 a Peruvian production opened starring Paul Vega and Hernan Romero under the direction of Chela de Ferrari.
The Company Theatre mounted the Canadian premiere of Festen in November 2008 at the Berkeley Street Theatre in Toronto. This production was directed by Jason Byrne and starred Eric Peterson
Eric Peterson
Eric Neal Peterson, C.M. is a Canadian stage and television actor, known for his roles in three major Canadian series – Street Legal, Corner Gas and This is Wonderland.-Personal life:...
, Rosemary Dunsmore, Nicholas Campbell
Nicholas Campbell
Nicholas Campbell , sometimes credited as Nick Campbell, is a Canadian actor and filmmaker, who has won three Gemini Awards for acting. The movies Naked Lunch, Prozac Nation and the TV series Da Vinci's Inquest are some examples of his acting work.-Early life:Campbell was born in Toronto, Ontario,...
, Philip Riccio, Allan Hawco
Allan Hawco
Allan Hawco is a Canadian television and film actor, best known for his roles in the television series ZOS: Zone of Separation and Republic of Doyle and the television films H2O and The Trojan Horse....
, Tara Rosling, Caroline Cave, Richard Clarkin, Earl Pastko
Earl Pastko
Earl Pastko an American - Canadian actor. Born December 10, 1965 in Chicago, Illinois. He stands approximately 5"9" and he's a founding member of the Remains Theater Company. He moved to Canada in 1984. He's best known for roles in as Colonel Alexi Zukhov, Highway 61 and The Sweet Hereafter...
, Milton Barnes, Gray Powell and Alex Paxton-Beesley.