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With the support of generous donors like you, Francophone artists were centre stage at the NAC throughout March in celebration of Mois de la Francophonie. A diverse virtual program of music, theatre, dance and more drew thousands of visitors, offering Francophiles and Francophones the…
October 2020. On the stage of Le Diamant in Quebec City, it’s a rare day of activity in this fall of cultural scarcity. For the past week, the set has felt like a radio studio, with 20-odd microphones set up to capture the epilogue of Pour en finir avec Octobre?, an eight-episode podcast…
In February 2020, excitement was in the air as the BIG BANG Festival returned to the NAC, taking over the building with children and families exploring the fascinating world of music, sound and the arts. This one-of-a-kind festival included imaginative installations, workshops and…
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As you know, the performing arts sector will probably be the last to reopen. We don’t yet know under what conditions. This is of particular concern to us because we cannot yet count on an exact timeline. We’re told that nothing will ever be the same again. But for now, the future is hazy,…
Meet the National Arts Centre’s artistic leaders: Cathy Levy, Executive Producer, NAC Dance; Jillian Keiley, Artistic Director NAC English Theatre; Brigitte Haentjens, Artistic Director NAC French Theatre; and Alexander Shelley, Music Director, NAC Orchestra. All of them care deeply about…
By Raymond Bertin (Text first published in the Théâtre français' Cahier SIX) First in March at the TNM, then in April at the NAC, Sébastien Ricard incarnates the tyrant king Richard III, supported by a cast of top-notch actors. Under the Sibyllines banner, Brigitte Haentjens directs a…
We don’t say it often enough: The NAC French Theatre is an amazing space of artistic freedom. In an age where conformity and compliance are seen as desirable (which admittedly makes things easier from an accounting point of view), it is precious to have access to a few spaces, a few places…
After nearly three years of hard work, Shakespeare’s Richard III was at last on the stage of the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde in Montreal, and will soon be presented at the NAC’s Théâtre français in April. In staging this monumental piece, director Brigitte Haentjens worked closely with…
Brigitte Haentjens, Artistic Director, NAC French Theatre Q. You’ve just published a book, Un regard qui te fracasse (“A gaze that shatters you”), about your artistic approach. The title has an element of violence about it. What does it mean? A. It’s about how the audience looks at…
Discussion between Brigitte Haentjens and Sylvain Schryburt about the book Un regard qui te fracasse, Propos sur le théâtre et la mise en scène by Brigitte Haentjens. (In French) The discussion took place at the NAC Salon on September 25, 2014
Molly Bloom, the famous monologue that marks the conclusion of James Joyce’s masterpiece Ulysses is presented this week in a translation by Jean-Marc Dalpé, with staging by Brigitte Haentjens. Alone onstage, Anne-Marie Cadieux is Molly Bloom. In a performance space that leaves room for the…
Brigitte Haentjens, Artistic Director of the NAC French Theatre, publishes an exceptional book that reveals an artist at the heart of her creative process. She recounts her journey starting from theatre school in France, and talks about her work in francophone Ontario, where her directing…
Brigitte Haentjens, the artistic director of the Théâtre français at the National Arts Centre, discusses the role of the NAC in creating new theatre works.
“The most essential element of theatre is transformation.” – Heiner Müller It has become difficult to publicly justify the necessity of art in our lives. Is art useful in terms of providing financial value? Can we quantify what it gives us, as we can with any consumer product? Can we…
Jillian Keiley and Brigitte Haentjens are arguably two of the busiest women in Canadian theatre. Both of these artistic directors have had an immediate effect on theatre at the National Arts Centre. For the 2014-15 season they have collaborated to bring Robert Lepage's Needles and Opium to…