November 08, 2006 -

In a media release issued on Tuesday, October 31, the French section of the Capital Critics Circle (CCC)—the regional branch of the Canadian Theatre Critics Association (CTCA)—announced the 2005–06 winners of the CCC’s annual awards for excellence in French-language theatre in the National Capital Region. The NAC French Theatre collaborated on three of the four winning productions.

By a unanimous vote, the award for Best Regional Production went to La Société de Métis, written by Normand Chaurette and directed by Joël Beddows. This four-way coproduction by Théâtre la Catapulte (Ottawa), the NAC French Theatre, Théâtre Blanc (Quebec City) and Théâtre français de Toronto had its world premiere at the NAC from November 23 to 25, 2005.

The award for Best Production from Outside Ottawa-Gatineau went to Le Projet Andersen, written, directed and performed by Robert Lepage and produced by Ex Machina (Quebec City) in coproduction with several partners including the Barbican Centre (London, UK), Grand Théâtre de Québec (Quebec City), Hans Christian Andersen 2005 (Odensee, Denmark), Théâtre du Nouveau Monde (Montreal), Théâtre du Trident (Quebec City), and the NAC French Theatre. This dazzling one-man show was presented at the NAC from March 28 to April 1, 2006.

The award for Best Performance in an Outside Production was presented to Marcel Bozonnet for “the elegance of his vocal and physical orchestration” in La Princesse de Clèves, a one-man show based on the 17th-century novel by Marie-Madeleine de La Fayette, produced by the Maison de la Culture de Bourges (France) and the Centre de Créations et de Productions en Région Centre (France) in coproduction with the Théâtre des Arts, Scène Nationale de Cergy-Pontoise, and Studio Productions. The NAC presented the exclusive North American engagement of the production (September 21 to 24, 2005).

Jury members for the 2005–06 Capital Critics Circle Awards (French section) were theatre reviewers Natasha Gauthier (Ottawa Citizen), Patrick Voyer (Hebdos Transcontinental), Geneviève Turcot (Le Droit), Mélanie Riendeau (Radio-Canada La Première Chaîne, Ottawa-Gatineau) and Alvina Ruprecht (CBC Radio, Ottawa).

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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, ext 759
gwarin@nac-cna.ca