Cannes do for Kid’s Fest
Palme d’Or winning actor for Edinburgh
Claes Bang, the lead actor of Cannes Palme d’Or winning film The Square is appearing at the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival this week.
Bang appears in solo show Evil, by Danish company Folketeatret. He gives an intense and heartfelt performance in the play about a teenage boy trying to fight off abuse and bullying.
Claes Bang (left) with the cast of The Square at Cannes Pic: Reuters
Evil is appearing in the Wee Night Out section of the festival, a special initiative in which a group of 10-15 year old children from Craigmillar work as young curators with Festival Director Noel Jordan.
Together, they attended eight productions at the 2016 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and selected two productions to be performed at their local venue (Lyra). Impressed by their choice, Jordan included these two productions into the 2017 Festival programme. One of these was Evil.
Bang, who is 50, graduated from the National Theatre School of Denmark and has been seen mostly in Danish TV and theatre with some local film roles.Until his performance in The Square, he was best known globally for playing the gigolo Claudio in season two of The Bridge.
Target
The play is based on Ondskan, an award-winning semi-autobiographical novel by Jan Guillou filmed as Evil in 2003. It follows Erik, who is sent to a prestigious boarding school to escape a violent father and a life of petty crime. But the school is run by a sadistic older pupils’ council and he soon becomes the target of their relentless bullying.
The play sees Erik attempting to stand up for himself and his roommate. In the process, he learns to find his own strength and discovers the importance of friendship and, most importantly, resilience.
Following the Palme d’Or announcement on Sunday night, Festival Director Noel Jordan said: “Claes’ performance in Evil is absolutely compelling. He holds the audience in the palm of his hand and you can barely hear a pin drop during his 65 minutes monologue. It is no wonder he has been recognised for his performance in The Square. We are very excited to welcome him to Edinburgh tomorrow.”
Evil includes disturbing descriptions of violence and is aimed at children aged over 12 years.
The Edinburgh International Children’s Festival is produced by Imaginate and showcases the best of children’s theatre and dance from around the world. It is running this week, to Sunday 4 June at various venues around Edinburgh
Listing:
Evil
Lyra, 11 Harewood Rd, EH16 4NT
Tuesday 30 – Wednesday 31 May 2017
Tues: 11am, 2pm, 6pm; Weds: 11am.
Tickets and details: /www.imaginate.org.uk/festival/whats-on/evil
Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 2017
Traverse, Brunton, Lyra and other venues around Edinburgh.
Monday 29 May – Sunday 4 June 2017.
Listings and details: www.imaginate.org.uk/festival/whats-on/
ENDS
I would be grateful for contact information for the Danish Theatre Company and the rights holders of EVIL.
Hello Brenda,
Thanks for your comment. The EICF might be able to help you with that: info@imaginate.org.uk
Good luck