- Writer Suzanne Lebeau
- Director Gervais Gaudreault
- Composer Roland Auzet
The play Frontière Nord depicts a choral universe of women and children, set in an unknown location. It’s a contemporary oratorio that combines the electroacoustic music of composer Roland Auzet with two texts written by Suzanne Lebeau that are united by the same narrative thread: the walls that surround and the boundaries that separate and divide territories—North and South, children and adults, the self and the other.
In this large-scale work, director Gervais Gaudreault imagines a world where choirs are omnipresent. They tell the story of the collective drama, a drama that affects everyone in a specific way, but also affects the community as a whole. In this conflict, the characters are the spokespersons of their experience, the witnesses of their pain.
Company
Convinced of the need for a true artistic encounter, Le Carrousel centres its creative approach on the question “What should we say to children?” and reflects deeply on artists’ self-censorship when dealing with young audiences. Supported by creative research that breaks through limits and boundaries, co-founders Suzanne Lebeau and Gervais Gaudreault have channelled their passion into a repertoire of original works that are considered, in Quebec and abroad, milestones in the history of theatre for young audiences.
For 45 years, Le Carrousel has sought to decompartmentalize audiences and practices, convinced that theatre for children must also reach out to and even unsettle adults. Today, Marie-Eve Huot defends this unique vision of childhood and art in her role as the company’s co-artistic director, with Gervais Gaudreault. This handover is a window to the future and will secure a tradition to be transcended so that the story continues and evolves.
Creative team
- Writer Suzanne Lebeau
- Director Gervais Gaudreault
- Composer Roland Auzet
- Assistant director and production manager Martin Emond
- Lighting design Dominique Gagnon
- Costume design Linda Brunelle
- Musical collaborator Agathe Bioulés
- Special collaborator Catherine Gadouas
National Creation Fund investment
The National Creation Fund’s investment of $135,000 made it possible for the creative team to collectively develop the oratorio’s music and text, and supported an expanded cast during an extended research and development process.
Credits
Frontière Nord was created by Le Carrousel, compagnie de théâtre and co-produced by Théâtre du Vieux-Terrebonne (Québec); Scène Nationale d’Albi; Théâtre Molière Sète, scène nationale archipel de Thau; and Théâtre des Quatre Saisons (Gradignan, France).
Developed with the support of the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund, the Canada Council for the Arts (for the co-production) and the Cole Foundation
