Fall Highlights: French theatre

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This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en: Francais (French)

September

AB is left alone with his memories, listening to his archives, ready to record the ultimate cassette. One year after his death, Olivier Choinière pays tribute to André Brassard in La dernière cassette, assigning the role of AB to Violette Chauveau. Théâtre de Quat’Sous, Sept. 5-30. www.quatsous.com 

The dark comedy Salle de nouvelles (Network) condemns the infotainment industry. With 12 performers, including Denis Bernard. Duceppe, Sept. 6-Oct. 7. www.duceppe.com

In Courville, Simon recalls the turmoil of his adolescence. Robert Lepage evokes this story through the Japanese art of bunraku puppetry. With Olivier Normand. TNM, Sept. 12- Oct. 7. www.tnm.qc.ca 

Sylvain Bélanger and Sophie Cadieux revive their performative approach with Les mutant-es. Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, Sept. 18-Oct. 14. www.theatredaujourdhui.qc.ca  

For a young black woman to determine the sentence of the man who brutally attacked her, author Debbie Tucker Green restores the death penalty in corde. Raide (hang). Espace Go, Sept. 19-Oct. 15. www.espacego.com 

A Colombian family, scattered across North America, gathers for a funeral and the ceremony turns into a party. Spiced with magical realism, Providencia features a premier Quebec cast of seven performers from the Latin American community. Aux Écuries, Sept. 19-30. www.auxecuries.com

Catherine Ringer opens the Festival international de la littérature (FIL) with L’érotisme de vivre; Martin Faucher presents Catherine Mavrikakis’s best-selling novel Nirvana; Tomson Highway’s musical tale for young audiences, Le Grand Chef Salamoo Cook, will delight the whole family; Angela Konrad takes on Kevin Lambert’s Que notre joie demeure; Macha Limonchik embodies Colette; Catherine De Léan tackles the world of Marie-Hélène Voyer; Pas une de ces personnes by Martin Crimp and Christian Lapointe will be performed in both French and English. Various venues, Sept. 20-30. www.festival-fil.qc.ca

Coming from an immigrant background, Salim Djaferi discovers that in his homeland, the Algerian war is called Revolution. Koulounisation is written, directed and performed by Djaferi. Prospero, Sept. 26-Oct. 7. theatrepospero.com

With the double bill Battements, Félix-Antoine Boutin establishes a poetic and transitory space. Espace Libre, Sept. 26-Oct. 7. www.espacelibre.qc.ca

Choreographer Paul-André Fortier creates Les Arcanes, his first theatrical production based on a text by Tristan Malavoy. Co-presented with FIL. Salle intime du Prospero, Sept. 26-Oct. 14. www.theatreprospero.com

Un reel ben beau, ben triste by Jeanne-Mance Delisle reveals the mechanisms of abuse and denial. Directed by Marc Béland, the play has lost none of its edge. Rideau Vert, Sept. 27-Oct. 28. www.rideauvert.qc.ca

Immensely successful at its première in Quebec City (2020) Les Plouffe arrives in the metropolis. Denise-Pelletier, Sept. 27-Oct. 21. www.denise-pelletier.qc.ca 

October

In L’Inframonde, an avatar can unlock a range of interdictions. Could this reality influence others? Catherine Vidal directs this dystopia by Jennifer Haley, translated by Fanny Britt. Salle Fred-Barry, Oct. 3-21. www.denise-pelletier.qc.ca 

A man dies, leaving a grieving widow with sons and sisters-in-law borrowed from Beckett and Ducharme. Christian Lapointe takes on Parents et amis sont invités à y assister, Hervé Bouchard’s notoriously impossible to stage poetic work. Théâtre de Quat’sous, Oct. 17-Nov. 11. www.quatsous.com 

To bring back to life Louis XIV, Lully and Molière, Emmanuelle Jimenez draws inspiration from Gérard Corbiau’s film Le roi danse. Michel-Maxime Legault oversees the staging and the music, Mélanie Demers the dance. Denise-Pelletier, Nov. 14-Dec. 9.  www.denise-pelletier.qc.ca 

With the controversial Docteure, by Robert Icke, Marie-Ève Milot challenges the culture of cancellation with an all-star cast of 11 performers, including Pascale Montpetit. Duceppe, Oct. 18-Nov. 18. www.duceppe.com

A man kills a foreigner, films his crime, and broadcasts it. Homicide, by Projet Mû, explores issues that have been turned upside down by the digital revolution. Prospero, Oct. 24-Nov. 11. theatreprospero.com 

Une conjuration, by Alexis Martin and Daniel Brière, explores the footsteps of André Masson and Georges Bataille and reminds us that human beings cannot be reduced to the sum of their usefulness. Espace Libre, Oct. 25-Nov. 11. www.espacelibre.qc.ca

Théâtre l’Escaouette presents Les remugles ou la danse nuptiale est une langue morte by Caroline Bélisle, finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Awards and winner of the Prix Gratien-Gélinas. Salle Fred-Barry, Oct. 31-Nov. 11. www.denise-pelletier.qc.ca

November

Nzinga depicts a proud and dignified immigration posture. Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, Nov. 6-25. www.theatredaujourdhui.qc.ca

Édith Patenaude directs Debbie Lynch White in Tremblements, a text by Christopher Morris that examines the ethics of the international humanitarian work on the African continent. Espace Go, Nov. 14-Dec. 2. www.espacego.com 

In response to the hateful comments that flooded their tributes to the 14 victims of the École Polytechnique massacre, performers Marie-Joanne Boucher and Jean Marc Dalphond wrote Projet Polytechnique, a documentary theatre piece overseen by the Porte Parole company. TNM, Nov. 14-Dec. 13. www.tnm.qc.ca

Gary Owen has depicted a provocative and rebellious Iphigénie in Iphigénie à Pointe-aux, and Les Stations sordides adapted the text for five female actors. Salle intime du Prospero, Nov. 28-Dec. 16.  www.theatreprospero.com

2023 revue is the official opening of the holiday season. Must-see. Rideau Vert, Nov. 29-Jan. 7, 2024. www.rideauvert.qc.ca

December

Plunging into the heart of the 1980s HIV epidemic in Sweden, Alexandre Fecteau brings N’essuie jamais de larmes sans gants, based on the novel by Jonas Gardell. Warning: this 3½-hour show is intended for a mature audience. Duceppe, Dec. 6- 17. www.duceppe.com

This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en: Francais (French)

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