December 01, 2006 -

Following last month’s Beckett conference at the University of Ottawa and performances of Comédie (directed by Denis Marleau) at the National Arts Centre (NAC), the NAC French Theatre’s celebration of the centenary of the birth of Samuel Beckett (1906–1989) continues with another “double bill”: on Friday, December 8 at 18:00, a screening of Michka Saäl’s film Prisoners of Beckett (presented in collaboration with the Alliance française and the National Film Board of Canada/NFB); and from December 12 to 16 at 19:30, performances of Beckett’s En attendant Godot (Waiting for Godot), directed by Lorraine Côté and produced by Théâtre de la Bordée (Quebec City).

Jailhouse Godot

The NAC French Theatre, the Alliance française d’Ottawa and the NFB invite you to a screening of Michka Saäl’s 2005 documentary Prisoners of Beckett (in English with French subtitles), Friday, December 8, 2006 at 18:00 in the Alliance française gallery. Set in a maximum-security Swedish prison, the film tells the true story of five inmates rehearsing Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. Following a successful performance for their fellow inmates, the prisoner-actors go on tour and manage to escape. With a soundtrack by Bob Dylan, Prisoners of Beckett is a film and a puzzle, half tragedy, half farce, that weaves an existential dream of freedom. Coproduced by ARTE France, A.D.R. Productions, Qu4tre par Quatre Films and the National Film Board of Canada.

The NFB will be launching the DVD of the film (English and French) at the Ottawa screening, and copies will be available for sale. The DVD can also be ordered directly from the NFB (after December 8) at 1 800 267-7710 or through the NFB’s online store at www.nfb.ca/boutique.

Since the release of her first short film, Loin d’où (1989), Tunisian-born Michka Saäl has directed numerous documentaries and a feature film, La Position de l’escargot (The Snail Position, 1999). Her work explores issues of identity (A Sleeping Tree Dreams of its Roots, 1992, about the immigrant experience) and social responsibility (Zero Tolerance, 2004, about police racial profiling). Penetrating yet poetic, Michka Saäl’s films reveal the multiple connections between the intimate and the universal, the seductive appeal of dreams and the demands of the real world.

Beckett’s Prisoners
A film by Michka Saäl

With Jan Jonson, Lennart Wilson, Jösta Hagelbäck, Marianne Håkansson, Betty Skawoniau, Guy Hakim and the actors playing Vladimir, Estragon, Lucky, Pozzo and the Boy /
Researched, written and directed by Michka Saäl / Cinematography: Sylvestre Guidi /
Sound: Didier Pecheur / Editing: Nadia Ben Rachid / Music: Bob Dylan /
Producers: ARTE France, Jacques Debs, Delphine Morel (A.D.R. Productions),
Joseph Hillel, Julie Bergeron (Qu4tre par Quatre Films), Éric Michel, Joanne Carrière (NFB)

Friday, December 8 at 18:00
Alliance française Gallery
352 MacLaren Street, Ottawa
Running time: 85 minutes
RSVP: (613) 234-9470, ext. 226

Jack and Jacques will be there

The National Arts Centre (NAC) French Theatre is proud to present the Théâtre de la Bordée (Quebec city) production of En attendant Godot, with performances in the NAC Theatre December 12 through 16 at 19:30. We are especially pleased to welcome the Théâtre de la Bordée to the NAC for the very first time! “This show attracted the largest audience of any production in La Bordée’s history,” rejoiced artistic director Jacques Leblanc, who plays Estragon in this spirited, funny Godot, staged as Beckett himself might have done. He is joined on stage by the incomparable Jack Robitaille as Vladimir, and together, like two brothers suspended in a world without time, they shape the immense Beckettian arc with impressive sensitivity, crafting a relentlessly taut blend of clownish humour and metaphysical speculation.

For his portrayal of Estragon, Jacques Leblanc recently won the Prix Paul-Hébert for Outstanding Performance in a Lead Role, presented at the 20th annual Prix d'excellence des arts et de la culture in Quebec City.

En attendant Godot recently won the Critics’ Choice award for Best Quebec Production 2005–06 from the Association québécoise des critiques de théâtre (tied with Milan Kundera’s Jacques et son maître, directed by Martin Genest and coproduced by Théâtre du Trident and Théâtre Pupulus Mordicus).

“Hats off to Godot! The show is a jewel of humour and intelligence.”

– Isabelle Porter, Le Devoir (transl.)

“A classic worth rediscovering! Jacques Leblanc and Jack Robitaille make an unbeatable team.”

– Pierre O. Nadeau, Le Journal de Québec (transl.)

“The performances are flawless . . . A near-perfect moment that will enchant your eyes, your mind and your heart.”

– Jacqueline Bouchard, Spirale (transl.)

“Directing Godot is a Titanic challenge, and Lorraine Côté is more than equal to the task . . . . An artistic and moral experience you absolutely can’t pass up.”

– Jean St-Hilaire, Le Soleil (transl.)

En attendant Godot
Written by Samuel Beckett • Directed by Lorraine Côté
With Jacques Leblanc, Jack Robitaille, Denise Gagnon, Hugues Frenette and Lucien Ratio
Assistant director: Hélène Rheault / Sets: Christian Fontaine
Costumes: Isabelle Larivière, assisted by Marie-France Larivière
Hair and makeup: Angelo Barsetti / Lighting: Sonoyo Nishikawa
Soundscape and sound equipment: Pascal Robitaille / Props: Jeanne Lapierre

A Théâtre de la Bordée (Quebec City) production

December 12 to 16, 2006 at 19:30
National Arts Centre / Theatre
53 Elgin Street, Ottawa, ON
Show running time: 2 hours 20 minutes, with one intermission

Tickets $31.50 to $50 ($17 to $26.25 for full-time students)
On sale at the NAC Box Office, 53 Elgin Street (no service charges), through Ticketmaster (at all Ticketmaster outlets or by ‘phone, 613-755-1111) or online at www.nac-cna.ca

Bring a donation of tinned food to the NAC Box Office and save 20% off regular ticket prices for the December 12 and 13 performances!
All donations will be delivered to the Ottawa Food Bank.

Full-time students ages 13-29 are eligible to purchase Live Rush™ tickets at $10 each (subject to availability).
Available in person at the NAC Box Office between 14:00 and 18:00 on the day of performance only, on presentation of a valid Live Rush™ membership card.

Groups of 10 or more save up to 20% off regular ticket prices.
Reservations: (613) 947-7000, ext. 384, or grp@nac-cna.ca.

The NAC French Theatre gratefully acknowledges the support of our media partners for this production:
Radio-Canada La Première Chaîne 90.7 FM
Radio-Canada Television, Ontario/Outaouais
Le Droit

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For more information, please contact:
Guy Warin, Communications & Media Relations Officer
French Theatre – Canada’s National Arts Centre
(613) 947-7000 or 1 866 850-2787, ext. 759
gwarin@nac-cna.ca