November 21, 2024 – OTTAWA (Canada) – Six years after presenting Dis merci at the National Arts Centre (NAC), Joe Jack and John returns to NAC French Theatre with another quirky comedy performed by an inclusive cast.

In Cispersonnages en quête d’auteurice (“Cischaracters in search of an author”), five neurodivergent performers meet in the rehearsal studio to launch a new creative process. Unable to do the unicorn show they had originally planned—because they aren’t unicorns—, each of them comes up with ideas to break the creative deadlock. Caught between their artistic vision and their many ethical principles, the performers gradually realize that their playing field seems mined and their freedom rather restricted.

“Discussions around these subjects, at the intersection of identity claims and debates about coexistence, are sometimes clouded by fear, resentment or incomprehension. Our play aims to present these issues and their many ramifications in an uncomplicated and sometimes even comical way.”

– Catherine Bourgeois, director of the show, and general and artistic director of Joe Jack and John

Reviving the relevance of the questions raised a century ago in the iconic Luigi Pirandello play from which the show also borrows its title, Cispersonnages en quête d’auteurice takes the bold step of fearlessly encouraging debate.

Founded in 2003, Joe Jack and John creates and presents socially engaged, innovative theatre based on collaborative writing and inclusive teams, including professional artists with functional diversity, in particular neurodivergent and intellectually disabled artists. The company explores the connection between theatre and life, as if the former were an extension of the latter, a way of questioning it, probing it, and, above all, living it.

MANI REÇOIT CATHERINE BOURGEOIS

On Thursday, December 5, the opening night of Cispersonnages, Mani Soleymanlou will be joined by director Catherine Bourgeois as part of the Grandes rencontres du Théâtre français discussion series. The conversation will begin at 6:45 pm in the NAC Salon.

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

Azrieli Studio

Thursday December 5 and Friday December 6 at 8 pm, and Saturday December 7 at 4 pm

The performance on Friday will be presented with English surtitles, and will be followed by a talkback.

It may be possible for members of the media to attend the matinee on December 6.

Duration: 1 hour and 20 minutes without intermission

Tickets from $37

Anyone under the age of 30 is eligible for the Under30 program

To purchases tickets, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35957 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 2024-2025 NAC French Theatre season.

ACCESSIBILITY MEASURES

In the interest of openness, several accessibility measures have been put in place for this show, which opens in the same week as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

For the performance on Friday, December 6, audio description will be available to audience members who are blind or visually impaired.

Audio description in theatre

Audio description in theatre is a live commentary of the main visual elements of a performance (sets, characters, action, movement) that helps people who are blind or visually impaired experience the show. The narration is delivered live, between the dialogue and the sound effects of the performance. In French only.

Tactile tour

Reserved for persons who are blind or visually impaired and their companions, the tactile tour allows them to explore the stage space where the actors perform. By touching the sets, props and costumes used in the show, blind and visually impaired audience members can get a better sense of the show’s volumes and spaces.

The performance on Saturday, December 7 will be a relaxed performance.

To ensure an enjoyable experience for all audience members, the last performance will be slightly adapted, with a quieter, more inclusive environment.

Inclusive and accessible prices are available for spectators with disabilities who wish to take advantage of these initiatives.

For more information or to reserve your seats, please contact Véronique Lavoie-Marcus, Programming Assistant, Children and Youth, at veronique.marcus@nac-cna.ca or 613-806-4471.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNER

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank Official Hotel Partner Ottawa 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-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 Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Sylvain Lavoie

Communications Strategist, French Theatre

National Arts Centre

343-588-0743

sylvain.lavoie@nac-cna.ca