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Philippe Cyr, the new artistic director of Théâtre Prospero, maintains his focus on transgression. And the concept certainly works for him.
How might transgression apply to an artist’s approach, but also to a theatrical institution? And how can the theme be addressed in the relationship with artists and audiences?
Prospero’s website describes transgression as learning freedom without exceeding limits. “This quest is a trigger toward rethinking our ways of proceeding and looking at the institution’s various issues such as programming, communications and budgeting—it underlies our considerations without being an obsession.”
Cyr wants to preserve the international dramaturgy so dear to the Ontario Street venue but change the conversation, opening it up to fragmented contemporary writings. To present, in the same season, productions in which the text and the esthetics clash, while at the same time finding a common denominator, is a challenge that interests him. “I wanted to direct a text by Viripaev and Insoutenables longues étreintes (Unbearable Long Embraces) was a real staging challenge, but a theatre must also care to bring complex themes to its audience—as Nini Bélanger did with her latest work, Homicide.”
Both broad-based and radical
Those two compatible words drive all the actions taken by Prospero’s new leadership. The practice of theatre has become an act of resistance, and with tickets now starting at $25, the theatre’s new price structure opens its doors to a wider audience. “We can offer challenging, hard left-field works, but the fact remains that they must be accessible to as many people as possible.”
Prospero 22-23 Insoutenables longues étreintes (Photo by Maxim Paré Fortin)
The venue and its installations are an opportunity for artists of all generations to question their practice—the institution must be socially beneficial. “The École de la transgression (The Transgressive School) which has just launched its second edition and invites artists to experiment with their intuitions in small, intensive laboratories, stems from this idea.”
Theatre professionals invest a great deal—financially, materially, and humanely—in productions that are sometimes only shown for two weeks. “To program just one reprise per season is to act on degrowth; therefore, last season’s success, Insoutenables longues étreintes by Ivan Viripaev, will be scheduled again in December.”
This is a unique time for Quebec theatre: “A new generation of five artistic directors has taken over from the original founders, and there is still a lot of uncharted territory to be cleared in order to provide audiences with a genuinely diversified range of practices.”
Insoutenables longues étreintes, by Ivan Viripaev, will be staged again, directed by Philippe Cyr.
Théâtre Prospero, Dec. 5-16.
www.theatreprospero.com
This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Francais (French)
