(photo: Sarah M Swanson)
UK - Currently one of the most talked-about shows in the West End, Festen has enjoyed good reviews from the critics since transferring to the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, after its successful sell-out run at the Almeida earlier in the year. This stage adaptation of the 1998 Dogma film, directed by Rufus Norris, succeeds superbly in portraying an immensely powerful script with a minimal set designed by Ian MacNeil. Using merely a dining table and double bed, MacNeil has created two symbolic environments that are automated to flow effortlessly between the two as the story unfolds and intensifies.

Stage Technologies' Maxis control system and BigTow winches enabled Tom King (the show's automation operator) to achieve the desired effects needed for this sensitive show without detracting from the intimacy of the performance. After two years as a technical operator King is using Stage Technologies' equipment for the first time. He comments: "After two days of familiarizing myself with the Juggler control desk and some great tuition from the Stage Tech support team I quickly got the hang of it. The control desk and software is far more advanced than anything I had previously used, however the accessible interface makes it logical and easy to understand. The system is also safer than previous systems I have worked with that use visual deads."

Festen is an unforgettable performance that has derived from the collaboration between Marla Rubin Productions and Bill Kenwright Ltd. Stage Technologies are also currently supplying the automation for another Bill Kenwright production Tell Me On a Sunday on tour until 4 December.

(Lee Baldock)


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