"We are celebrating a small family party," is a quote from Ibsen's The Wild Duck. And celebrating is something humans are generally good at, whether it's holidays, anniversaries, or achievements. Perhaps this is why celebration and family gatherings are such popular themes in literature.
In this theatre salon, we will take a closer look at some of these gatherings, with particular focus on those where the celebration fails. Why is it that Agamemnon ends up dead in the bathtub after returning from Troy? Why does Mrs. Dalloway spend an entire novel planning a party? And what is, in fact, the most failed Christmas celebration in literary history?