February 16, 2006 -

Ottawa, Ontario -- Close on the heels of the gripping Howie le Rookie, by Irish playwright Mark O’Rowe, the National Arts Centre (NAC) French Theatre is pleased to present another stunning production from Montreal’s Théâtre de La Manufacture, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year: Gagarin Way, the brilliant, darkly comic play by Scottish writer Gregory Burke, in a French translation by Yvan Bienvenue (winner of the 2005 Masque for Oustanding Translation). In this powerful production directed by Michel Monty (La Société des loisirs), four supercharged actors battle it out like beasts in a cage: David Boutin, Daniel Gadouas, Stéphane Jacques and Francis Poulin.

“The production succeeds on every level, from Gregory Burke’s script—translated with great sensitivity by Yvan Bienvenue—to Michel Monty’s firm and assured direction, to the four actors’ breathtaking performances.”

– Michel Vézina, Ici

“Scathing wit, bitter irony, hollow laughter. Michel Monty’s staging is truly remarkable: it’s lively, dynamic, fast-paced, and stunningly realistic. It’s all about urgency—in word and deed. An intelligent piece of theatre . . . but above all, incredibly well acted.”

– Jessica Nadeau, Journal de Montréal

“Realistic, violent, laced with cynicism and vitriolic humour . . . [The actors] are astounding. Michel Monty directs them with such energy that we almost fear for their safety. They struggle, clash, hurl themselves against the walls—this is extreme theatre. David Boutin delivers one of his finest performances. Feverish, hysterical, he is the ultimate loose cannon.”

– Anne-Marie Cloutier, La Presse

Terrorism in the pre–9/11 world

An edgy, cynical socio-political microcosm set in post-Thatcher Scotland, Gagarin Way takes an incisive, fiercely intelligent look at the remnants of 20th-century ideology and charts its dispersal in our era of emptiness. Economic, political and personal violence collide ferociously in this caustic comedy, shining an unforgiving light on our infuriating inability to acknowledge, identify or resist the forces that dehumanize us.

Premiered as a staged reading in Edinburgh in 2000, Gregory Burke’s sensational debut play—a contemporary example of the British literary tradition of the “angry young man”—has been translated into 19 languages and performed in 25 countries. The playwright describes his inspiration for the play: “I wanted to write something about the twentieth century, and about the economy, and about men. And that turned out to be Gagarin Way. A comedy. I wasn’t expecting that, but when you consider the themes—Marxist and Hegelian theories of history, anarchism, psychopathology, existentialism, mental illness, political terrorism, nihilism, globalization, and the crisis in masculinity—then it really couldn't be anything else.'”

A man-eating machine

The first astronaut in the world, Yuri Gagarin (who manned the 1961 space flight that put the Soviets ahead in the “space race” with the United States), gave his name to a street in a small Scottish industrial town with a faltering economy. Not too long ago you worked your butt off at the docks or in the mine; now, under the new economy, you slave away producing computer chips in a converted warehouse owned by a Japanese consortium. The job titles and the bosses may have changed but everything else has stayed the same.

To make ends meet, Gary (Stéphane Jacques) and Eddie (David Boutin), two Dunfermline factory workers, are doing a brisk trade in bootleg computer parts. Their operation expands to include Tom (Francis Poulin), fresh out of university, who’s working as a security guard until he lands a “real job.” Unbeknownst to Tom, Gary and Eddie are plotting a grand gesture, a stunning media coup that will focus the world’s attention on their miserable working conditions: Frank (Daniel Gadouas), one of the multinational’s executives, is in town, and they’re planning to kidnap him. The night before the job, as they’re putting the final touches to the plan, Gary—former left-wing activist and dyed-in-the-wool union man—discovers that although he’s on the same page ideologically, his buddy Eddie has a totally different purpose in mind. And where does Tom fit in? Poor Tom—he really shouldn’t have left his cap behind in the warehouse…

Gagarin Way
Written by Gregory Burke
Translated by Yvan Bienvenue
Directed by Michel Monty
With David Boutin, Daniel Gadouas, Stéphane Jacques and Francis Poulin
Assistant Director: Marie-Hélène Dufort
Set design: Olivier Landreville
Costume design: Sarah Balleux
Lighting design: Martin Labrecque
Original score: Jean-François Pedno
Props: Patricia Ruel
Makeup: Suzanne Trépanier
Fight choreography: Paul De Tourreil

Produced by Théâtre de La Manufacture (Montreal) in coproduction with Trans-Théâtre (Montreal)

March 1, 2, 3 and 4, 2006 at 20:00 in the NAC Studio

Tickets $30.50 (Students $16.25)
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

Groups of 10 or more receive up to 20% off regular ticket prices.
For more information, please contact (613) 947-7000, ext. 384, or grp@nac-cna.ca

About the playwright and the play

Gregory Burke was born in Dunfermline, Scotland in 1968. After high school he took “a series of ‘very important,’ low-paying jobs, in the course of which he accomplished nothing that might jeopardize the brevity of his curriculum vitae”! Gagarin Way premiered in 2000 as a staged reading at Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre, and saw its first full production at the 2001 Edinburgh Fringe Festival (coproduced by the Traverse and London’s Royal National Theatre [RNT] Studio), where it was crowned “Best of the Fringe Firsts”. The production toured to the RNT Studio (October 2001) and the Arts Theatre in London’s West End (February 2002), and Burke was invited to be the RNT’s 2001–02 Playwright-in-Residence. From the very first performance, Gagarin Way has been a stunning success, quickly gaining international acclaim. Prestigious UK awards include the Critics’ Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright, the TMA Barclays Award for Best New Play, and the Arts Council England’s 2002 Meyer-Whitworth Award for new writing for the theatre (jointly with Henry Adam for Among Unbroken Hearts). Gregory Burke’s second play, The Straits, premiered at the Traverse Theatre in August 2003.

The NAC French Theatre would like to thank our media partners for this production: Voir, Le Droit, Transcontinental Media, Radio-Canada 90.7 FM (La première chaîne), and Radio-Énergie 104.1 FM.

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