Montreal, April 2022 – Talisman Theatre’s contemporary drama created specifically for video, Night from the 4th to 5th, poetically recounts a sexual assault and the young woman who fought back. But her mind is playing tricks on her—she’s plagued with memory lapses and fleeting images. This is the story of a woman who speaks rather than stays silent; who acts rather than remains paralyzed. It follows her journey from the moment she is attacked, through developing resilience, to regaining freedom. An ensemble of characters—relatives, friends, witnesses, police, social workers, journalists and ‘concerned’ citizens—express their wildly differing views as they reconstruct the event. The show streams from May 12-29, and offers French subtitles.
Night from the 4th to 5th contrasts multiple interpretations of the same assault as told by the denizens of modern Quebec society through their culturally specific “clichés, prejudices and divergent statements” (Mario Cloutier, La Presse). The examination of these interpretations makes us “question our world in all its beauty, but also in its ineffable ugliness” (Olivier Dumas, MonTheatre).
The characters represent a slice through Quebec culture with each one projecting her or his own prejudices about the situation. The only character not present is the woman’s assailant—the audience will piece her or him together from the descriptions and imaginings of the viewpoints offered. This subjective process makes for an entirely engaging experience. Director Isabelle Bartkowiak states, “We do not want to believe that we are phobic, yet we all possess cultural limits and boundaries to what we are willing to accept as ‘normal’. La nuit du 4 au 5 is playwright Rachel Graton‘s gift to help us momentarily lift the cultural miasma that clouds every view of the world.”
“Every night when she walks, she hunts the Pokémon-No-Face-Fella and suddenly there are thousands like her on the same park bench.”—Night from the 4th to 5th
Night from the 4th to 5th is Talisman Theatre’s second produced-for-digital experience. Designed to be streamed to an online audience, the show seeks to live at the intersection of theater and digital art. “We are thrilled to embark on this project with emerging director Isabelle Bartkowiak. This well-rounded theatre artist, a recent graduate from the National Theatre School of Canada’s Directing Program, exercises and extends her skillset in this new, hybrid art form,” said Artistic Director Lyne Paquette. For Paquette, the company’s investment in digital tools and technology has created something new and compelling for audiences.
This is also Talisman Theatre’s first collaboration with Para-Dime Productions and its founder and President, Jaa Smith-Johnson, an award-winning Montreal-based actor, producer and writer, whose mission is to effect a paradigm shift in digital storytelling.
Talisman Theatre has a vibrant, living mission: to produce English-language premieres of Quebec plays in translation. It was founded in 2006 by Lyne Paquette and Emma Tibaldo. Paquette has been the company’s artistic and executive director since 2009.
Written by Rachel Graton | Translated by Kathleen Turnbull | Directed by Isabelle Bartkowiak
Cast: Victoria Barkoff, Nahka Bertrand, Brian Dooley, Rebecca Gibian, Birdie Gregor and Duy Nguyen
Set Design Zoe Roux| Costume Design Maryanna Chan | Sound Design Raphael Leveillé |
Visual Direction Para-Dime Productions | Stage Manager Birdie Gregor
Night from the 4th to 5th with French subtitles
Thursday, May 12 at 7pm to Sunday May 29 at midnight on YouTube
Tickets: talisman-theatre.com Pay-what–you-can
