FEAST

a play

FEAST is a retelling of the ancient biblical story of The Writing on the Wall, in which the last meal of an era is prepared just before the collapse of the great Babylonian empire.  Engaging the implicit violence and intimacy of eating together, the tragic celebrants circle the void by never saying exactly what they mean.

During the FEAST, a King and his Concubines are haunted by Handel’s baroque operetta, Belshazzar's Feast, while anxiously devouring everything possible on the banquet table. Despite impending doom, the court persists (“first course first of course”), sparing no expense as the city burns in the distance. As the stolid King considers how to make sense of history and rebuild a failing civilization, the world of the banquet slips further and further from its noble intents.

FEAST was presented at The Public Theater, New York, in the Under the Radar Festival, 2014, in association with ArKtype / Thomas O. Kriegsmann.  FEAST was originally presented at Incubator Arts Project, New York, 2012.

Writing, Direction, and Design Andrew Ondrejcak 

Music to Belshazzar (1744) George Frideric Handel

Libretto to Belshazzar Charles Jennens

Costumes Adam Selman

Sound Design Kristin Worrall

"For You For You" music by DM Stith

"For You For You" played by Anthony Romaniuk

Music on Harpsichord by Daniel Gower

Wig Design Enver Chakartash

Make-up Design Naomi Raddatz

Costume Assistant Baille Younkman
Stage Manager Heather Englander

Stage lighting concept in collaboration with Christina Watanabe
Stage design concept in collaboration with 
Leong Leong Architecture


Cast:

The King Reg E Cathey
The Fishmonger Peter Cullen

The Concubines

Jenn Dees


Cara Francis


Yuki Kawahisa


Jason Robert Winfield


In the original production:
THE KING was played by Okwui Okpokwasili
Lighting Design by Scott Bolman
Technical Direction by Brendan Regimbal
Jewelry by Fenton/Fallon
Assistant Stage Design Amanda Shin