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Partir ou rester
November 20, 2020To leave or to stay. The dilemma runs through much of Franco-Ontarian dramaturgy, including some of its most iconic texts: André Paiement’s Lavalléville (premiered in 1974), Jean Marc Dalpé’s Le chien (premiered in 1988), Michel Ouellette’s French Town (premiered in 1993), and, more…
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A conversation with Brigitte Haentjens about Pour en finir avec Octobre?
November 16, 2020October 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…
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Dear you,
October 23, 2020Dear You, I’ve been thinking about the last time we saw each other at the theatre. When was that, do you remember? Do you remember the show you came to see that day? Perhaps you’ve carefully preserved an image or sound from that experience in your memory. Close your eyes and…
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Ersatz
August 28, 2020ERSATZ, adj. (Of a product) Made or used as a substitute for a product that has become rare. An interview with Mélanie Dumont about a mysterious theatrical product to be launched in mid-October. What is Ersatz? Concretely, it’s a web platform, an all-terrain, multidisciplinary…
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Chansons pour le musée
August 28, 2020In 2015, the amazing Karine Sauvé managed to dazzle us and make us laugh (!) with Les Grands-mères mortes. She was also seen in concert mode during the latest edition of the BIG BANG festival. She is now working on a sonic creation in which the ears will be directly connected to the heart.…
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The return of BIG BANG
August 24, 2020In 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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Meet the Next Artistic Director of NAC French Theatre: Mani Soleymanlou
August 18, 2020Theatre director, playwright and actor Mani Soleymanlou will be the next Artistic Director of NAC French Theatre, effective September 1, 2021. Mani will take over from Brigitte Haentjens at the conclusion of her nine-year term. NAC audiences will have already seen some of…
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What keeps us alive
July 8, 2020As 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,…
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Les ballets de ci de là
May 22, 2020Ultimately, we strive to share the things that consume us: love, death, fear, solitude.” — Alain Platel (2005) An exclusive online screening: LES BALLETS DE CI DE LÀ* (click here to watch) directed by Alain Platel Belgium | 2006 | 110 minutes *In French and Flemish with French…
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A continent to explore
May 21, 2020Trees are vertical, overhanging and solid, somewhat like adults. But a child is not only small in the forest: he can also see himself as a giant, discovering the microscopic abundance all around. - Ariane Voineau and Josué Beaucage GREAT EXPLORERS Activities based on the show Sous…
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From “Je n’y suis plus” to “Dans le bleu”: a correspondence between...
May 6, 2020We must learn how to lend ourselves to dreaming when dreams lend themselves to us. —Albert Camus Guy Warin (GW): From the original production in September 2013 of Marie‑Claude Verdier’s monologue Je n’y suis plus to the stage premiere of your very first play, the road you have…
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A celebration of words
May 5, 2020If you feel inspired, why not try to play with words like the characters of Elle (Her) and Lui (Him)? Here are some suggestions for activities to have some fun with words and poetry. > Word Games Activity #1 – Exquisite Corpse Collaborative writing game | Materials: Paper and…
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Q&A: Mani Soleymanlou, director, playwright and actor
November 7, 2019Q. You’ve written a cycle of plays, titled from 1 to 9, which deal with identity. Your latest work is titled Zéro. What prompted this choice? A. Another word for zero in Persian and Arabic is “sefr”, which means “void”. I explored this idea in my first creations: Un, Deux and Trois. With…
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Renewing the NAC’s Performance Halls and Production Facilities
July 3, 2018A few hours after the artists performing at the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award left the Southam Hall stage, construction workers began work on a project that will dramatically improve the NAC’s performance halls and production facilities. Much of the NAC’s production equipment is…
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Q&A: Mélanie Dumont, Associate Artistic Director, Youth Programming for French Theatre
April 4, 2018Q. Coming up on May 19 is De plain-pied, an annual event that you launched in 2015. What’s it all about? A. De plain-pied (which translates roughly as “Come on in”) is created with input from teenagers. For each edition, I work with young people to envision the form the event will take.…
