November 15, 2006 -

From this story one learns that children,
especially young lasses,
pretty, courteous and well-bred,
do very wrong to listen to strangers,
And it is not an unheard thing
if the Wolf is thereby provided with his dinner.

– From the moral of Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perrault

Acclaimed as one of the leading figures on the contemporary theatre scene for her previous solo shows—Jimmy, créature de rêve (Jimmy) and La Noirceur (The Darkness)—, Quebec playwright and performer Marie Brassard continues her compelling artistic journey with her latest creation, Peepshow, with performances in the Studio of the National Arts Centre (NAC), November 29–December 2, 2006. In this new production, Brassard ventures once again into the realm of the intimate and the forbidden, of possible worlds and parallel realities, tracing the invisible boundaries that separate us from each other. Like a unique and personal gift, she offers us another glimpse into her enigmatic universe of infinitely fragile metamorphoses.

Backed by musician and sound designer Alexander MacSween, Marie Brassard extends her exploration of the multiple possibilities of sound as a vehicle for expressing the countless secret messages of the human soul. Thanks to dazzling sound-distortion technology—which grows more sophisticated and complex with every production—she constructs a bewildering vocal hall of mirrors where the unspeakable can at last be revealed.

Peepshow continues the NAC French Theatre’s longstanding artistic relationship with Marie Brassard. Audiences will remember her two previous solo shows: Jimmy, creature de rêve (presented at the NAC in December 2002), and La Noirceur (November 2003), both of which have since achieved international recognition.

“More compelling than ever, Marie Brassard bewitches us, infinitely gently, in a Peepshow that is as much about hearing as seeing.”

– Ève Dumas, La Presse

“Marie Brassard is a sorceress. She captivates you with her very first glance, her very first word. . . . What charisma! You’d follow her anywhere.”

– Amélie Giguère, Ici

The voices of contemporary desire

A young woman stands alone at centre stage. Blonde hair, dark glasses, red coat… has she escaped from the pages of Little Red Riding Hood? Then, bizarrely, the voices of desire—dozens of them—begin to speak through her: a young girl slyly encouraging an older man to stalk her; a woman whose love for a stray dog eventually introduces her to the delights of bondage; a gay couple on the verge of breaking up; a teacher who self-mutilates as a reminder of a lost love…

In fact, the show “speaks” through the body of Marie Brassard, her voice shifting from narration to incarnation(s), charged with desire, love, sex, fantasy, with stories where sadness becomes joy, pain becomes pleasure. In Peepshow—that solitary place we go to hide, in the hope that somewhere in the stream of images we will discover the object of our desire—Marie Brassard makes us feel the terrible weight of that loneliness… for there is nowhere more solitary than the centre of human desire.

“Peepshow is a show about the infinitely intimate, a little thing with astonishing power. . . . It’s a profoundly moving experience.”

– Michel Bélair, Le Devoir

“Sorceress. Wizard. Trickster. Montreal’s Marie Brassard is all of these. . . . Not to be missed, Brassard leaves the ordinary behind.”

– Jo Ledingham, The Vancouver Courier

Peepshow
Written, directed and performed by Marie Brassard
Live music and sound design: Alexander MacSween / Dramaturg: Daniel Canty
Set and lighting design: Simon Guilbault / Assistant director: David Clermont-Béique
Technical and production direction: Richard Desrochers / Sound technician: Steve Marsh
Lighting technician: Christian Gagnon / Assistant designer: Véronique Bertrand
Produced by Infrarouge
in coproduction with the National Arts Centre French Theatre,
the Festival de théâtre des Amériques (Montreal), Harbourfront Centre Toronto,
the Vienna International Festival, Spielzeiteuropa/Berliner Festspiele (Berlin),
and the Göteborg Dance & Theatre Festival (Göteborg, Sweden)

November 29 - December 2, 2006 at 20:00
National Arts Centre / Studio
53 Elgin Street, Ottawa, ON
Running time: 1 hour 25 minutes with no intermission

Tickets $31.50 regular, $17 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

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 the performance only, on presentation of a valid Live Rush™ membership card.

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

About playwright and performer Marie Brassard

Marie Brassard trained at the Conservatoire d’art dramatique du Québec, and devotes her artistic practice almost entirely to new works for the stage. For several years she collaborated closely with renowned writer and director Robert Lepage: she co wrote and performed in La Trilogie des dragons (The Dragons’ Trilogy), Le Polygraphe (Polygraph), Les Sept Branches de la rivière Ota (The Seven Streams of the River Ota), and La Géométrie des miracles (The Geometry of Miracles). She also played Lady Macbeth in Lepage’s contemporary staging of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and Ariel in The Tempest, both in Canada and on tour in Europe, Asia, North America and Australia.

She founded her own company, Infrarouge, in 2001, with a mandate to promote research and development into new theatrical forms, with a special focus on new technologies and multidisciplinary works created in collaboration with other artists.

Her film appearances include two productions directed by Robert Lepage, Le Polygraphe (for which she and Lepage co wrote the screenplay) and Nô; The Claim, directed by Michael Winterbottom; La Loi du cochon, directed by Éric Canuel; and most recently Congorama, directed by Philippe Falardeau.

About composer and musician Alexander MacSween

Alexander MacSween has worked on numerous film, dance and theatre projects with, among others, Sarah Bild, Estelle Clareton, Imago Théâtre, Robert Lepage, Montréal Danse, José Navas and Projet Porte Parole, and collaborated with Marie Brassard on La Noirceur (The Darkness). He often uses sound technology to incorporate the human voice into his musical compositions, and has been invited to give workshops on the technique in France and Belgium. Alexander MacSween has been the drummer for Paolo Angeli, The Nils, Sam Shalabi, and currently FoodSoon.

The National Arts Centre French Theatre gratefully acknowledges the support of our media partner for this production Radio-Canada La Première Chaîne 90.7 FM

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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