The renowned Quebec playwright will present his latest play, Cher Tchekhov,
and meet the public

Ottawa, November 3, 2022 – NAC French Theatre presents Cher Tchekhov, the latest play by Quebec writer Michel Tremblay. Directed by Serge Denoncourt and featuring a top-notch cast, this Théâtre du Nouveau Monde production will run from November 17 to 19, and the acclaimed playwright and writer will be on hand on November 17 to kick things off.

The National Arts Centre invites the public to celebrate the work of Michel Tremblay, whose plays have been performed at the NAC in both French and English since the NAC’s first season in 1969.

 

“A great man among us. When I learned a few years ago that Michel Tremblay was writing a new play, it seemed obvious, necessary, that he should be part of my first season with NAC French Theatre. I would like to think that if I, Mani Soleymanlou, am doing theatre today, it’s because one day a young Michel Tremblay put society in all its complexity into words and onto the stage. With Tremblay, Otherness found its place, its language, its reality. The stage was transformed. The face of Quebec theatre was transformed. And for all that, thank you, Michel, and welcome to French Theatre.”
—Mani Soleymanlou, Artistic Director, NAC French Theatre

 

In his latest play, the immortal Michel Tremblay exposes the burning issues of his creative profession. With Cher Tchekhov, he delivers a funny and ferocious text about a family of actors who gather at a country house for a dinner that will go ... superbly well? Around the table, a writer suffering from writer’s block, actors with minor careers, a script that needs reworking, and THE sister with the dazzling career who arrives on the arm of a young critic. The result is a family drama in which people love each other as much as they excoriate each other, performed by a brilliant cast that includes Gilles Renaud, Anne-Marie Cadieux, Isabelle Vincent, Patrick Hivon and Maude Guérin. A tribute to Chekhov written by Michel Tremblay at the top of his game.

 

Cher Tchekhov will be presented in the Babs Asper Theatre from November 17 to 19, including a school matinee.

 

Tickets available here: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/30555

$15 tickets available for audience members under 30 (Under30 tickets) and for members of Indigenous communities (All my relationstickets).

 

AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET MICHEL TREMBLAY

Audiences in the Ottawa–Gatineau region are invited to meet Michel Tremblay, who will be at the National Arts Centre on November 17 for a series of free public events.

 

Exhibition: Michel Tremblay, en sept temps (Michel Tremblay, in Seven Times)

A free exhibition curated by theatre critic and teaching artist Sylvain Lavoie, documenting the relationship between Michel Tremblay and the National Arts Centre French Theatre through seven key moments. In this journey through time, visitors will recognize some of Tremblay’s most popular plays and discover lesser-known but nonetheless significant works.

Vernissage: Thursday, November 17 from 4 to 5 p.m.

Location: Babs Asper Theatre Foyer

The exhibition will be open to the public from November 17 to 27 during the NAC’s opening hours.

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/32312

 

Interview with Michel Tremblay

Host Julien Morissette, artistic director of Transistor Média and producer of French Theatre’s “Plus que du théâtre” podcasts, will talk with Michel Tremblay about the themes and characters in his most recent works, including Cher Tchekhov. And perhaps a few memories of the National Arts Centre since its opening in 1969 will emerge!

Interview: Thursday, November 17 from 5 to 6 p.m.

Location: Peter A. Herrndorf Place

The interview will also be livestreamed on the National Arts Centre website and on NAC French Theatre’s Facebook page, it will remain available on the NAC website until November 27.

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/32314

https://www.facebook.com/TheatreFrancaisCNA

 

Book signing

Meet the playwright and have him sign your copy of Cher Tchekhov (or another of his plays)! The Librairie du Soleil will also be on hand with a selection of Michel Tremblay’s works for sale, including Cher Tchekhov and his new novel La Shéhérazade des pauvres.

Signing: Thursday, November 17 from 6 to 7 p.m.

Location: Peter A. Herrndorf Place

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/32316

 

THE NAC AND MICHEL TREMBLAY

The NAC has presented many of Michel Tremblay’s plays in both English and French, beginning with his adaptation of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, which was featured at the NAC’s grand opening in 1969. Albertine, en cinq temps was presented in 1984, directed by Tremblay’s longtime associate, the late André Brassard, who would later be appointed artistic director of NAC French Theatre. The play ran for 32 performances.

 

ABOUT NAC FRENCH THEATRE 

NAC French Theatre presents theatre that is in step with the times, theatre that reflects and responds to emerging artistic trends both at home and abroad and actively contributes to advancing contemporary stage writing and directing. This artistic trajectory is expressed through national and international co-productions, new works and touring productions. French Theatre offers audiences shows that stand out for the diversity of the forms they present and the emotions they trigger. Its programming is rich in original writing and vision, in brilliant staging, and in the powerful words of artists who enchant, challenge or unsettle audiences, but never leave them indifferent. French Theatre audiences have come to expect an emotional and intellectual adventure that is profoundly and authentically human.  

 

ABOUT THE NAC 

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams—the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety—and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation. 

 

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