The door is closed but suddenly we are invited to come in so close that it seems we are part of the guests. Yes, we are the guests, we sat at the banquet table, but don´t know any of the family members; they don´t know us as well. They ignore us and we try to ignore them in return. Oh, actually, there's a dinner party going on, the father´s 60th birthday, all the family gathered together, except one daughter, whose place is reserved though she is not there. They are happy, they play, they sing, they tell jokes. We see that with a certain envy until the elderly son starts to speak out loud. At the end of the party, an amazing discovery: they don't know each other as well, but all their wounds are open on the day after, over the breakfast table. We are tense accordingly... because we sat at that banquet table and witnessed their last supper, as a neighbor that spies the silent routine of a wealthy and happy family next door. And it proves to be unmasked reality.
This is one of the feelings we have after attending a remarkable production that is running in Rio de Janeiro: the play "Festen", the British playwright David Eldrige´s dramatization of the 1998 film directed by Lars von Trier (released in the US as "The Celebration"). In Brazil, "Festen" is the first directorial effort by Bruce Gomlevsky, a young and acclaimed Brazilian actor and producer, and the first production by Companhia Teatro Resplendor. Undoubtedly, "Festen" indicates a good start both for the director and the company. The Brazilian production has been acclaimed by audience and critics.
The film was the first one made under the Dogme 1995 manifesto that proposes a genre of movie with low budgets, rejecting special effects to focus on the playwright and actors' performances. Actors and playwrighting in the first place means the essence of drama. That´s why these film productions seem so appealing, also appearing on stage.
When Bruce Gomlevsky met the play he had already met the film, as he says:I´ve been always a great fan of the film, since 1998 when I attended the premiere in Brazil. I got shocked with it! Recently I found out that the film was adapted to stage and then I bought the stage rights because I was very fond of the film and also I missed playing with other actors, in a realistic play, consistent and profound as "Festen" is.
The necessity of sharing the stage with others is because of this: since 2006 Bruce Gomlevski is living a tremendous hit playing "Renato Russo - o musical", a sensible musical monologue about the life and career of one of the greatest Brazilian pop composers and singers. With "Festen", besides returning to theatre with a group, Bruce also assumes his first stint as a director, along with the production and the main character´s role. And he confesses that assuming multiple functions was a natural choice, after 30 plays as an actor, two times as a co-director and four productions in his curriculum: I started producing theatre six years ago, this is my fith production. So I became interested in other aspects of theatre work to have a larger view.. That has naturally taken me to some other interests, to try new things as a director. I never started a carreer as a director only. This is my first, so everything to me is really a natural way that I started to follow with direction and actor's work. I started to pay attention to the work of other actors, and also to the lighting, costume, scenery, the whole thing. It´s my experience as an artist, I want that, as a way to experiment for myself as well.
Bruce Gomlevsky plays Christian, the hero, the Christ, a kind of redeemer who is going to say the unsaid: his and his twin sister´s tragic story of sexual abuse by their own father since they were kids, under the silence of his mother, under the silence of the closed doors. The sister gave up, her name is there on the table as a ghost that comes back to get even. Her suicide letter comes into the story and is a turning point to the action: Christian's revealing story is truthful, and the character that is not there becomes the most eloquent of all.
At the beginning we are as the family members, we don´t know what is true, what is a fantasy of a deceptive mind. Christian never comes to see his family, rather appears, what kind of sorrow does he carry? After the letter that is read by Helene (Julia Carrera), another sister, his story reveals the inner disaster.
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The scenery gathers together actors and audience—there is a long table forming a square, where the audience can sit along with the actors who soon will come to sit down. There's a small stage in the middle, and on each side of the table, where some action happens – not during dinner-time – and places also available to the audience outside the table, but every place we choose to sit is much too close to the action. The table enphasizes spaces, boundaries, movements and the eyes of the audience. The Brazilian production of "Festen" also builds a dramatic relationship with the light design that enables climates, shadows of redemption. The strong open light at the final scene: the breakfast time when the things are put into light and not even the father nor the son is hiding secrets anymore.
The father leaves, is not accepted anymore, but has Christian achieved his goal? Who has punished or healed oneself? The food is bitter anyway.
In Rio de Janeiro, after being run at Banco do Brasil Cultural Center theatre, "Festen" is moving now to Espaço Cultural Sergio Porto. Meanwhile, Bruce Gomslevski can also been seen as Renato Russo in October 2009 in Rio de Janeiro (at the show Loucos por música, in Canecão) and in Brasilia. Check it out!
Festen
September 11 to October 4 2009
Friday to Saturday – 9 PM
Sunday – 8 PM
AT Espaço Cultural Sergio Porto
R. Humaitá, 163 - Humaitá - Rio de Janeiro - RJ. Ph: (55 21) 2266-0896
Playwright: David Eldridge
Director: Bruce Gomlevsky
Translation: José Almino
Cast: Bruce Gomlevsky (Christian), Julia Carrera (Helene), Walney Costa (Helge), Otto Jr (Michael), Risa Landau (Else), Teresa Fournier (Mette),Joelson Gusson (Poul), Peter Boos (Helmut), Gustavo Mello (Gbatokai), Carolina Chalita (Pia), Ricardo Damasceno (Kim), Leonardo Corajo (Lars), Carlos Veiga (avô), Júlia Limp Lima (menininha).
Musical direction: Marcelo Alonso Neves
Lighting design: Maneco Quinderé
Scene design: Bel Lobo
Costume design: Flávio Souza
Graphic design: Maurício Grecco
Directorial assistant: Tuini Bitencourt
Theoretical Consulting: Karl Erik Schollhammer
Executive producer: Elisa Padilha
Production director: Bruce Gomlevsky
Publicist: JSPontes Comunicação - João Pontes e Stella Stephany
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