ROME: A Capital Epic
The Shakespeare/Dalpé/Haentjens triumvirate returns to the NAC
April 19, 2023 – OTTAWA (Canada) – In 2015, French Theatre audiences experienced the impressive Richard III by Shakespeare/Dalpé/Haentjens. With ROME, a production of unparalleled scope will rock the capital on May 5 and 6. For seven and a half hours, 29 artists will take the stage to perform, end-to-end, Le viol de Lucrèce (The Rape of Lucrece), Coriolan (Coriolanus), Titus Andronicus, Jules César (Julius Caesar), and Antoine et Cléopâtre (Antony and Cleopatra), with a prologue to kick off the sequence.
Under the invincible pen of Jean Marc Dalpé, a key figure in Franco-Canadian theatre and Brigitte Haentjens’ long-time associate, the Shakespearean texts have been updated to emphasize their undeniable modernity. Because whether we like it or not, we are still influenced by the Roman culture of which the Bard made himself an unparalleled conduit, and thanks to Dalpé, his plays find a new impetus as poetic as it is rhythmic, and surprisingly in tune with our times.
Brigitte Haentjens has brought her characteristic passion and talent to her masterful direction of this monumental work, which captures several themes dear to the heart of French Theatre’s former artistic director (2012–22): freedom, notions of power and subjugation, and the loss of reference points. These topics sustain the role of Sibyllines’ artistic director as a driving force in the arts community, as she demonstrates once again with ROME, an epic charged with essential reflections on democracy and the paradoxes these issues raise.
“Some of Shakespeare’s historical plays have a huge appeal for me. They unsettle me by the singular way they have of questioning the workings of power and interweaving personal and political life, human and political issues. Their richness is inexhaustible as they reflect who we are, with all our contradictions, our dark sides, our weaknesses, and sometimes our greatness.”
– Brigitte Haentjens, director of ROME
A true marathon, with only two performances in Ottawa, ROME is perhaps most of all a reminder, delivered by an incredibly talented cast, that theatre is a larger-than-life art form, and that fiction is an essential part of understanding our world in all its harshness.
ON STAGE
Jean-Denis Beaudoin, Marc Béland, Alex Bergeron, Éliane Bergeron, Céline Bonnier, Vincent Carré, Samuël Côté, Guido Del Fabbro, Leïla Donabelle Kaze, Sylvie Drapeau, Irdens Exantus, Bernard Falaise, Reda Guerinik, Lauren Hartley, Bozidar Krčevinac, Frédéric Lavallée, Roméo Lucas, Jean-Moïse Martin, Iannicko N’Doua, Gaétan Nadeau, Leni Parker, Alice Pascual, Véronique Perron, Viktor Proulx, Sébastien Ricard, Joakim Robillard, Madeleine Sarr, Mattis Savard-Verhoeven and Valérie Tellos.
HOW THE EVENT UNFOLDS
The performance includes two intermissions, during which sandwiches and refreshments will be available for purchase at the NAC concession stands. You can also bring your own food.
Part 1 ~ 1 hr 45 min
PROLOGUE
LUCRÈCE: Movements I, II, III
CORIOLAN: Movements I, II
Intermission ~ 30 min
Part 2 ~ 2 hrs 40 min
CORIOLAN: Movement III
JULES CÉSAR: Movements I, II, III
ANTOINE ET CLÉOPÂTRE: Movement I
Intermission ~ 20 min
Part 3 ~ 2 hrs 10 min
ANTOINE ET CLÉOPÂTRE: Movements II, III
TITUS ANDRONICUS: Movements I, II, III
PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION
Babs Asper Theatre, May 5 (6pm) and May 6 (3pm).
Under30 tickets are for anybody under the age of 30. And yeah, that includes teens and kids!
To purchase tickets, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/31894 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS). To find out what you need to know before accessing the building and facilities, click: https://nac-cna.ca/en/visit
Visit the NAC website to learn more about the 2022–2023 NAC French Theatre season.
NATIONAL CREATION FUND
The National Creation Fund’s investment of $150,000 made it possible for the creative team to dedicate additional time to develop and refine the script, including a dramaturgical workshop. This was followed by extensive work on staging, with a creation workshop with the cast and a technical residency with the creative team. In the final development phase, the creators explored the integration of live music and a choir.
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS
The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank Lead Donor, the Slaight Family Foundation, Supporting Partner of French Theatre, Québecor, and Official Hotel Partner, Embassy Hotel & Suites.
ABOUT THE NAC
The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-prod uces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre in collaboration with Black Theatre Workshop, 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 Anishinaabe.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Sylvain Lavoie
Communications Strategist, French Theatre
National Arts Centre
613-240-3786