Today, September 12, a woman is at work. Today, September 12, she is interrupted by a phone call from school; her daughter has a stomach ache. Today, September 12, the woman gets into her car, parks in front of the school and gazes out at the school yard. She observes children at play, imagining all sorts of possible scenarios, from the hilarious to the terrifying. 

Written and performed by Evelyne de la Chenelière and directed by Daniel Brière, the solo piece Septembre reveals in sensitive yet humorous fashion the cruel law in force in the schoolyard. The playground mirrors our world, a microcosm governed by power struggles where shame, fear and brutality spare not even the littlest soul! This sensitive and subtle piece will be presented by the Théâtre français at the NAC Studio from October 14 to 17 at 8 p.m.

We want to protect our children from everything, but are sometimes overcome by an irrational desire to run away from them forever, because it’s hard to put ourselves in their shoes. It means confronting our darkest fears, facing the gulf that sometimes exists between what we have unconsciously projected and the individual we discover, but these very contradictions also make the relationship powerful and beautiful. 

- Evelyne de la Chenelière

Daniel Brière focuses on untangling the delicate threads binding together the performer in her triple role as playwright, actress and mother. With Septembre he continues to pursue with Evelyne de la Chenelière an exploration broached in their previous research (notably in Henri & Margaux and Bashir Lazhar, previously presented at the NAC). They employ, portray and question codes of representation in order to grasp the elusive constructs of the imagination, memory and fantasy, making them more sensitive and accessible.

(…) a delicate, sensitive and vibrant metaphor of the human condition, of childhood, of the mother-child relationship and the anxiety of separation viewed through the prism of a playground at the start of the school year.

- Fabien Deglise, Le Devoir

Written and performed by: Evelyne de la Chenelière // direction and set design: Daniel Brière // lighting: Nicolas Descôteaux // costumes: Julie Charland // costume maker: Yso // music and sound design: Alexander MacSween // musical excerpt: Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C major by Johann Sebastian Bach // video installation: Pierre Laniel // hair and makeup: Angelo Barsetti // technical director and assistant set designer: (concept) Jean-François Morel // technical director (at the NAC): Jean-François Landry// stage manager: Jean Gaudreau // production manager: Anne Plamondon

Produced by NOUVEAU THÉÂTRE EXPÉRIMENTAL

Co-produced by THÉÂTRE FRANÇAIS DU CNA

Duration: 1 hour

Meet the Artist

From the Playground to the Presentation of Septembre:

Chat with Evelyne de la Chenelière and Daniel Brière

Thursday, October 15 at 5 p.m.

In the Fountain Room

Free admission

Snacks and cash bar 

Host: Daniel Canty

Duration: 1 hour

To find out more about the creative process behind Septembre and the complicity between Evelyne de la Chenelière and Daniel Brière, meet the artists on Thursday, October 15 at 5 p.m. in the Fountain Room. Copies of the play, published by Éditions Théâtrales, will be on sale. 

Note that there will not be any meeting with the artists after the performance.