This is a terrific evening in the theatre. All the acting is first-rate, a real team effort. The play tackles tough issues without trivialization. It is a fearsomely compelling dramatization for the theatre by David Eldridge of the Danish Dogme film and play by Thomas Vinterborg, Mogens Rukov and Bo Hr. Hansen.
      At the centre of the play is Helge, who is celebrating his birthday. Around him is gathered family and their partners as well as friends. It should have been a happy occasion but under the apparently happy part lurks a disturbing family secret. Upright Helge had sexually abused his children when they were young and they have remained scarred for life, especially Christian. His sister committed suicide, and this appears to be the family secret, though when the play opens the reasons for her suicide and the absence of an explanatory note are still a puzzle.
      Festen has more than its fair share of coups de theater. The most stunning is Christian's revelation of his father's abuse in what is supposed his birthday congratulations. At first no one believes him, or not entirely, but bit by bit fears are confirmed particularly after the discovery and gradual reading of the suicide-note. Helge's comfortable world crumbles: the invisible worm in the rose.
      It would be invidious to single out any performance so good are they all. At the centre is Rupert Frazer's masterful Helge, full of calm affection and sophisticated detachment. He is a man whose past seems unlikely to catch up with him. Offsetting him is the nervous, psychologically troubled, apparently 'unreliable' Christian, played with great finesse by Christian Coulson. Michael, Christian's flamboyant, course brother starts so convincingly that the woman behind him gasped at his first swear words and gathered her cardigan protectively around her matching sweater. She was right, this is not a play for the faint-hearted. But could the subject of child abuse and its revelation be dealt with decently? Laurence Mitchell's Michael surrounded by his family (will history repeat itself?) was a a gripping performance.
       This is one of the best productions I have seen at Richmond. If this was the universal standard of traveling theatre companies and their performances the United Kingdom would be the best in the world. As it is quality of this kind is, thankfully, not as rare as it might be. All I can say, is catch this performance on its rounds; it is not to be missed. 
Roderick Swanston