Reviews

Festen by David Eldridge

emsemsems's review against another edition

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4.0

What the fk! An extremely well written play, but I'd not recommend it as an early morning read or something to indulge in before sleep. I did not expect it to be that 'dark'. 'Dark' is probably not the best word to describe it, but let's just say that it's like a Southern Gothic play/work of literature, except it's Danish. It was the first thing I'd read this morning, and as much as I'm impressed with it, it also puts me in a I-need-a-shower-right-now kind of mood even though I've just had one.

I've taken one star off because I personally prefer something with more 'stage directions'/descriptions; the play is packed with 'speeches' (in a room full of many characters who are conversing with one another) and/but a lot of on-going action. Even though I caught on with it just fine, I'd imagined it'd be easy to get lost/confused for someone who isn't familiar with reading plays.

hatterell's review

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4.0

Most other reviews have touched on this, but I would love to see this on stage. I'd also enjoy to see the film that the play was adapted from, but I can't easily find it on any platforms as of yet.

This reminded me of the atmosphere of [b:The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle|36337550|The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle|Stuart Turton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1506896221l/36337550._SY75_.jpg|57528323] - a large family, a big, old, stately house, and lots of secrets. I'd love to read more books that fit into these settings. It was complex and confusing, but compelling. I did find the stage directions overwhelming and boring - of course these would be of far more use if you were actually staging the play.

I think this would be visually fantastic, and the concept of it and the imagery it sparks really bumps it up from 3 to 4 stars.
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