Force Majeure: From Swedish Film to Donmar’s Stage
Award-winning Swedish film Force Majeure always thrived on discomfort, humor, and those painfully silent moments. Now, Tim Price is bringing all that tension into the heart of London’s theatre scene with his new stage adaptation at the Donmar Warehouse. The production is turning heads not only for its famous cast—which includes Rory Kinnear and Lyndsey Marshal—but for its gutsy transformation of the Donmar’s cozy stage into a slice of the French Alps.
Inside rehearsals, the energy is thick. Cast and crew are deep into the world of ski lifts, woolen hats, and looming mountains, all pulled together by director Jeremy Herrin. Behind-the-scenes snaps show actors bundled up as if a real blizzard might sweep through the theatre any second. That sense of threat isn’t just for show; it's the same icy dread that runs through the original film, where a family’s holiday cracks apart when a father’s cowardly reflex to an avalanche sets off a chain reaction of marital and existential woes.
Creating the Avalanche—On Stage and Off
The creative leap to stage isn’t simply about dialogue; it’s about turning the Donmar into something it’s never been—a full-on ski resort, complete with the drama of an avalanche. Designers spared no effort crafting a mountain out of painted backdrops and clever set pieces. When it’s showtime, audiences get more than just actors in snow gear; there’s an avalanche effect that caught early reviewers totally off guard, earning real praise even as other aspects of the play, like pacing, drew mixed reactions.
Early audience buzz picks up on just how immersive the staging is. The mountain scenery looms over the family at the story’s center, providing not just a backdrop, but an emotional weight. Some theatrical tricks, like the avalanche scene, have split viewers—some love the daring approach, others find it distracting, but nobody’s walking away feeling lukewarm.
Not to be missed: this run is Donmar Warehouse’s big swing as live theatre claws back from pandemic shutdowns. Filling seats again is a victory in itself. So, seeing a project this bold—in scale, cast, and technical ambition—come together in these circumstances is its own kind of drama on top of the story being told on stage. The play runs into early 2022, cementing itself as a key London theatre event just as the city gets its cultural heartbeat back.
