Q&A / Standstill
Who are you and what do you do? My name is Anders Falstie and I’m the director for The Rebel Alliance
What are you working on at the moment? My play Standstill which is currently on at Q here in Auckland for one more week before we move on to Wellington and Hamilton. It features 3 actors on 3 treadmills for 60min and it’s fast dark sweaty comedy.
What is something only your closest friends know about you? I have a marshmellow phobia… I know. It’s sad but what can I do… that shit is my kryptonite!
What is your favourite film and why? There is never just one sot lets take two of my all time favourites: Robocop by Paul Verhoeven and Festen by Thomas Vinterberg. I never tire of Robocop partly because it’s just such an exquisitely well made piece of B grade pulp but also because I still vividly remember when I saw it the first time on a pirated video tape. It was simply outrageous and I found it quite disturbing. Festen is equally disturbing and incredible. Seeing that at my local cinema when it came out is hands down the most memorable movie outing I’ve had to date. The entire audience just sat in silence for the duration of the entire credits at the end.
What inspires you to make theatre? Reading the paper and listening to what’s going on in the lives of friends and family. Real life is too weird and outrageous not to write about.
Who would play you in an autobiographical film? Hmmm, that would depend on whether the film would be about my childhood, my adult life, or my life as an older man looking back. For the youth film, of the boys from Tree of Life (the one with big scared eyes), for my adult film Mads Mikkelsen (Who wouldn’t want to be played by someone who’s been a blood crying Bond villain) and for the older guy looking back, Bill Murray.
What would the film be called? Danish Delight… no wait… that sounds like a kinky Danish piece of 70s erotica…. Hmmm, The Dane? No, that’s not a great title… Maybe just ‘AF-J’? Ah, shucks… titles have never been my forte…
What is the weirdest thing that has ever happened during a live performance? I was stage managing a big dance show at the Civic when suddenly the entire cbd lost power. Everything went black, we lost all communications on our head set for a couple seconds before emergency power kicked, alarms went off and big doors opened automatically. At first the audience thought it was a deeply unnerving ending to the piece itself until the ushers sprung into action and the evacuation began. It was pretty disconcerting.
What has been your proudest moment and why? Work wise, Standstill by far. It’s the best thing I’ve written. If I end up not writing anything else after that I’d definitely feel that that I finished on a high.
