The National Arts Centre French Theatre 2003-2004 Season --
Denis Marleau offers a Carte blanche to Wajdi Mouawad
April 22, 2003 -
Ottawa -- For his third season as Artistic Director of the
National Arts Centre (NAC) French Theatre, Denis Marleau will once
again present a selection of works of the highest artistic calibre, a
programme in direct contact with the live currents of theatre today.
The season includes creative collaborations with prestigious partners
from Canada and abroad, new works and classics, and Mr.
Marleau's annual Carte blanche, offered this year to
playwright, director, actor and producor Wajdi Mouawad, who among
other activities will present his own play, Incendies.
The established repertoire is represented by Molière
(Les Précieuses ridicules), Chekhov (twice: Les
Trois Soeurs and an adaptation of his short story Le Moine
noir), Cervantes (in L'Homme de la Mancha) and the
enigmatic Robert Pinget (Abel et Bela). In a contemporary
vein, leading innovative companies Pigeons International and Momentum
will make their long-awaited NAC debut, and we will welcome the
return of Marie Brassard and regular collaborators the
Théâtre du Trident, the Théâtre de
Quat'Sous and the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde. The
tone of the season is set by the artistic precision of esteemed
directors René Richard Cyr, Paul Buissonneau and, of course,
Wajdi Mouawad and of course, Denis Marleau.
The popular lunchtime reading series returns with four staged
readings (up from three last season) performed by local actors, with
musical accompaniment by Amanda Forsyth, lead cellist with the
National Arts Centre Orchestra, and pianist Jean Desmarais. This
year's series features readings of letters by well-known women
writers.
Last but not least, the third annual Laboratoire du
Théâtre français (French Theatre Master
Class) will be led by Carte blanche recipient Wajdi
Mouawad.
Série Théatre (5 plays)
The Série Théâtre begins with
Incendies, written and directed by Wajdi Mouawad, fresh from
its European tour and hailed by audiences and critics alike.
Incendies is an international coproduction of Montreal's
Théâtre de Quat'Sous in association with the
Théâtre Ô Parleur, the Festival de
théâtre des Amériques, Hexagone Scène
Nationale de Meylan, the Dôme Théâtre
d'Albertville Scène Conventionnée, the
Théâtre Jean Lurçat, Scène nationale
d'Aubusson, Le Groupe des 20, théâtres de ville en
Rhône-Alpes, the Festival des Théâtres
Francophones en Limousin, and the Théâtre 71
Scène Nationale de Malakoff.
Next up is a musical, L'Homme de la Mancha, winner of
the Loto-Québec « People's Choice Masque
» award and the « Masque » for best commercial
production from the Académie québécoise du
théâtre; libretto by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch
Leigh, French adaptation by Jacques Brel and directed by René
Richard Cyr. Les Trois Soeurs by Anton Chekhov, translated
by Anne-Catherine Lebeau in collaboration with Amélie Brault
and directed by Wajdi Mouawad, produced by Quebec City's
Théâtre du Trident, received the Masque for Best Quebec
Production (2002-2003). Acclaimed director Paul Buissonneau
tackles Molière for the first time in his production of Les
Précieuses ridicules, produced by the
Théâtre du Nouveau Monde.
The series concludes with Le Moine Noir, based on a short
story by Anton Chekhov, translated from the Russian by André
Markowicz and Françoise Morvan, adapted and directed by Denis
Marleau, and coproduced by the NAC French Theatre, le centre
dramatique - le manège de Mons (Belgium), UBU,
compagnie de création, and the Borderline Festival organized
by the city of Lille, 2004 European Cultural Capital. The show will
also travel to Montreal before going on tour in Europe in the fall of
2004.
Série Studio (4 plays)
The Série Studio begins with the fascinating
L'Autre, written, directed and choreographed by Paula de
Vasconcelos, premiered in 2001 and produced by Pigeons International.
Next is La Noirceur, written and directed by Marie Brassard
(creator of the breathtaking Jimmy, créature de
rêve), coproduced by the NAC French Theatre, Infrarouge
Théâtre, and the Festival de théâtre des
Amériques. Abel et Bela, written by Robert Pinget and
produced by the Théâtre de Fortune, will introduce NAC
audiences to the work of director Jean-Marie Papapietro. Last in the
Série Studio, L'Inoublié ou
Marcel-Pomme-dans-l'eau: un récit-fleuve, a touching
fictional self-portrait written, directed and performed by Marcel
Pomerleau in his first one-man show and produced by Momentum.
Carte blanche for Wajdi Mouawad
Incendies, Les Trois Soeurs, the French Theatre
Master Class and a conference
The NAC French Theatre's 2003-2004 season includes two
productions directed by Wajdi Mouawad: his own play Incendies,
and Chekhov's Les Trois Soeurs. Wajdi Mouawad will
also direct the third French Theatre Master Class, following in the
footsteps of American-born French director Stuart Seide (2003
workshop) and translator André Markowicz (2002 workshop).
Created by Denis Marleau, these annual sessions on the "master class"
model are designed and led by internationally-recognized theatre
artists who share their knowledge and practice with professional
colleagues from the canadian community. Finally, the NAC French
Theatre will organize a conference on Mr. Mouawad's work.
Lunchtime Reading Series: Her letter read... (4
readings)
Thanks to the popularity of last season's Midis Victor
Hugo, three lunchtime readings with music, Associate Artistic
Director Paul Lefebvre has expanded the series to four readings this
season, performed by local actors. This year's theme is letters
by four well-known women authors: Madame de
Sévigné, reading directed by Irène
Poujol-Paradis; George Sand, directed by Lyette Goyette;
Simone de Beauvoir, directed by Esther Beauchemin; and
Gabrielle Roy, directed by Danielle Grégoire.
Each reading will be accompanied by classical musical selections
performed by Amanda Forsyth, lead cellist with the National Arts
Centre Orchestra, and pianist Jean Desmarais. The series is presented
in collaboration with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the NAC
Fourth Stage.
Theatre for Young Audiences (2 series of 3 plays each)
Série 4 à 7 ans (for ages 4 to 7): the world
premiere of À nous deux! by Joël da Silva,
directed by Michel Fréchette and Michel P. Ranger and produced
by the Théâtre de l'Avant-Pays; Un secret de
Polichinelle, a collage of writings selected and directed by
André Laliberté and produced by the
Théâtre de l'OEil; and La Crise, written
and directed by Hélène Ducharme and produced by
Théâtre Motus.
Série 7 à 11 ans (for ages 7 to 11): Le Magasin
des Mystères (nouvelle administration) by Joël da
Silva, directed by Marie-Josée Plouffe and produced by the
Théâtre Magasin in association with Les Coups de
Théâtre with the support of touring partner
Théâtre l'Arrière Scène, centre
dramatique pour l'enfance et la jeunesse; La petite
ombre, a collective work by Bernard Chemin, Renée Cormier
and Louise Allaire, directed by Bernard Chemin and produced by the
Théâtre populaire d'Acadie and the
Théâtre Papyrus (Belgium) in association with Les Gros
Becs, centre de diffusion de théâtre jeunesse
(Québec); and La Librairie by Marie-Josée
Bastien, directed by Frédéric Dubois and produced by
the Théâtre du Gros Mécano.
