Jarzyna turns out to be a master of suspense, the heir of Hitchcock. He composes his performances using movie methods - in the way he builds up and stresses tension and intensity, brings scenes into crescendo and then makes them crash just before climax, how he contrasts mass scenes with portraits. The Celebration becomes a thriller on stage. - Renate Klett, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung TR Warszawa returns to St. Ann's Warehouse with the American premiere ofFesten, based on the prize-winning Danish film The Celebration, made according to the minimalist principles of Dogme 95. The story, adapted by screenwriter Thomas Vinterberg, its structure, and much of the language remain true to the film: a family gathers to celebrate the 60th birthday of the family patriarch. In Jarzyna's production, however, "two long tables laid out at right angles, brings to mind not just Chekhov but a whole range of Shakespeare plays: Hamlet obviously, with its theme of buried family secrets, but even more specifically, Macbeth, with the sense of a ceremonial banquet thrown into disarray through the intrusion of ghosts from the past" (The Guardian). The play's first 2001 Warsaw performance turned into one of the most important events of the season. The production features lighting by Jacqueline Sobiszewski, set design by Malgorzata Szczesniak, music by Pawel Mykietyn and Piotr Dominski, costumes by Magdalena Maciejewska, and subtitles by Agnieszka Tuszynska and Justyna Konczewska. Cast: Magdalena Cielecka, Ewa Dalkowska, Agnieszka Podsiadlik, Magdalena Kuta, Aleksandra Poplawska, Danuta Stenka/Katarzyna Herman, Danuta Szaflarska, Mariusz Benoit, Andrzej Chyra, Jan Dravnel, Carlos Ferreira, Wojciech Kalarus, Marek Kalita, Marek Kepinski, Redbad Klijnstra, Cezary Kosinski, Zygmunt Malanowicz, Jan Peszek, Stanislaw Sparazynski Approx. running time: 2 hours 15 min. (with 1 intermission) Presented by St. Ann's Warehouse in cooperation with the Polish Cultural Institute New York and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw. Additional support comes from the Trust for Mutual Understanding and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington. Watch trailer
