A genuine happening, La traversée du siècle (“crossing the century”) will see seven Montreal theatres join forces for the first time to pay tribute to the greatness of the universe of one of our most illustrious writers: Michel Tremblay. Created in collaboration with André Brassard and adapted and directed by Alice Ronfard, the show immerses us in the lives and destinies of Victoire, Albertine and Thérèse, leading characters in Tremblay’s work: three strong, resilient women who have weathered the great upheavals in Quebec society over the years.
Ranging from the fantastic to the hyper-realistic, from tragedy to comedy, this overview of a century is a composite adaptation of some of Tremblay’s best known plays and novels. It’s a project in the image of the man who created a masterful fresco marked by struggle, resilience, love and diversity, a sweeping œuvre whose groundbreaking themes remain strikingly relevant today.
The NAC French Theatre will be hosting La traversée du siècle on September 7.
La traversée du siècle is presented in association with Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, Duceppe, Théâtre Espace Libre, Théâtre La Licorne, Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, Théâtre de Quat’Sous and Théâtre du Rideau Vert.
Michel Tremblay has written 30 plays, 30 novels, 7 film and television screenplays, 47 translations or adaptations of works by foreign writers, 1 opera libretto and 2 musicals, as well as the lyrics to some 15 songs. More than 2,400 productions of his plays have been staged in some 50 countries around the world. Tremblay has received nearly 90 awards over the course of his career, including the prestigious Prince Pierre of Monaco Award, the Prix Gilles-Corbeil from the Fondation Émile-Nelligan, and the Grand Prix de la Francophonie from the Académie française for his body of work. The Belles-Sœurs cycle, the Chroniques du Plateau-Mont-Royal (published in English as The Plateau Mont-Royal Chronicles), and La diaspora des Desrosiers (The Desrosiers Diaspora), a series of nine linked books, are considered landmarks of contemporary French-language literature. In 1988, he was awarded the Prix Athanase-David by the Government of Quebec for his body of work.
Alice Ronfard has directed 30 plays. She won the Canadian Museums Association’s Award of Excellence for her design of the exhibition Femmes, corps et âme at the Musée de la civilisation in Quebec City, the Prix Gascon-Roux for best direction for her production of Euripides’ Les troyennes (The Trojan Women) at Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, and the Grand Prix de la Communauté urbaine de Montréal for Shakespeare’s La tempête (The Tempest), one of three Shakespeare plays presented during Montréal’s so-called “Shakespearean Spring” of 1988. From 1995 to 1999 she served as André Brassard’s assistant artistic director at the National Theatre School of Canada, and took over as acting director from 1999 to 2001. Alice Ronfard teaches production, set design, acting and directing at several theatre schools.
The National Creation Fund’s investment of $179,000 supports the final development process with the full cast, creative and production teams for this epic production. This includes additional time to work on the text, as well as an extended period to finalize lighting, sound, sets and staging.
La traversée du siècle is presented in association with Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, Duceppe, Théâtre Espace Libre, Théâtre La Licorne, Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, Théâtre de Quat’Sous and Théâtre du Rideau Vert.
A staged reading of La traversée du siècle was presented at Théâtre Espace Libre in August 2022.
La traversée du siècle was made possible with the financial support of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec.
Developed with the support of the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund.
This production is presented as part of CAM en tournée, an initiative of the Conseil des arts de Montréal.
| Presented by Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui | Aug 26 2023 | Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui |
| Presented by Théâtre Espace Libre | Sep 2 2023 | Théâtre Espace Libre |
| Presented by Théâtre La Licorne | Apr 20 2024 | Théâtre La Licorne |
| Presented by Théâtre de Quat’Sous | May 25 2024 | Théâtre de Quat’Sous |
| Presented by Théâtre du Rideau Vert | Jun 8 2024 | Théâtre du Rideau Vert |
| Presented by Théâtre Duceppe | Jun 15 2024 | Théâtre Duceppe |
| Presented by Théâtre du Nouveau Monde | Jun 29 2024 | Théâtre du Nouveau Monde |
| Presented by NAC French Theatre | Sep 7 2024 | Babs Asper Theatre |
