March 3, 2018 – OTTAWA (Canada) – Transported, NAC French Theatre, directed by Brigitte Haentjens, takes a fresh, contemporary, multi-layered look at historical characters and mythical stories.  The recurring theme of the new 2018-2019 season is that “in theatre, the past and our memories of it are expressed in our present bodies.”

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NAC FRENCH THEATRE 2018–19 SEASON:

• Three coproductions and one co-hosting
• A new theatrical production by Joël Pommerat
• Two works from Francophone Canada (outside Quebec): Théâtre La Tangente (Toronto) and Théâtre populaire d’Acadie
• Stage adaptations of novels, tales and literary classics
• Contemporary readings of well-known legendary figures like the Marquis de Sade, Alexander the Great, Bluebeard, Hamlet and Pinocchio

 

QUILLS
by Doug Wright

October 3, 4, 5 & 6 at 7:30 p.m. - Babs Asper Theatre

Translated by Jean-Pierre Cloutier // Directed and designed by Jean-Pierre Cloutier and Robert Lepage // Produced by Ex Machina

How far would you go to silence someone who deliberately harms living beings, and mocks morality? In the hands of Robert Lepage and Jean‑Pierre Cloutier, Doug Wright’s masterful work about the role of the artist, censorship, and the power of suppressed desires is rendered as a dazzling game of mirrors … that reflect the figure of the Marquis de Sade.

 

LE TIGRE BLEU DE L’EUPHRATE

October 17, 18, 19 & 20 at 8 p.m. - Azrieli Studio

Written by Laurent Gaudé // Directed by Denis Marleau // Coproduced by Théâtre de Quat’Sous and UBU, compagnie de création

The final oration of a conqueror who shaped a chapter of human history. A testament that sizzles with red-hot ambition, victory, and a thirst for military conquests and spiritual battles. The story of Alexander the Great, reimagined by Laurent Gaudé and UBU and featuring Emmanuel Schwartz.

 

LE RESTE VOUS LE CONNAISSEZ PAR LE CINÉMA

November 14, 15, 16 & 17 at 7:30 p.m. - Babs Asper Theatre

Written by Martin Crimp // Based on The Phoenician Women by Euripides // Translated into Québécois and directed by Christian Lapointe // Coproduced by Théâtre Blanc, NAC French Theatre and Espace GO

Martin Crimp’s ferociously funny, profoundly tragic play turns a new, accessible and self-reflective lens on the story of Oedipus and his lame lineage. Director Christian Lapointe invites us into a classroom where questions become the weapons of a rising revolt.

 

L’HOMME AUX SEPT FEMMES

December 5, 6, 7 & 8 at 8 p.m. - Azrieli Studio

Based on the novel Les sangs by Audrée Wilhelmy // Adapted by Gracia Couturier // Directed by Maurice Arsenault // Coproduced by Théâtre populaire d’Acadie and NAC French Theatre

Borrowing from Donkeyskin and Bluebeard, and even from the writings of the Marquis de Sade, this adult fairy tale blurs the line between pain and pleasure, fantasy and horror, mischievous games and hunting with hounds. Bewitching.

 

HAMLET_DIRECTOR’S CUT

January 30 & 31 and February 1 & 2 at 8 p.m. - Azrieli Studio - (In French)

Based on the play by William Shakespeare // Translated by Jean Marc Dalpé // Directed and adapted by François Blouin and Marc Beaupré // Produced by Terre des Hommes

A condensed, stripped down, radicalized Hamlet. A single actor, Marc Beaupré, playing several parts, several voices, and several variations of the same insurmountable existential drama. A Shakespearean tragedy revisited and remixed. A captivating experience.

 

LE SONGE D’UNE NUIT D’ÉTÉ

February 13, 14, 15 & 16 at 7:30 p.m. - Babs Asper Theatre

Written by William Shakespeare // Translated by Michelle Allen // Directed by Olivier Normand
Produced by Théâtre du Trident, in coproduction with Flip FabriQue

A romantic romp in an enchanted forest on a midsummer night. Shakespeare at his most comical, imaginative and agile. A lively and energetic re-telling directed by Olivier Normand, featuring acrobats from the Flip FabriQue circus troupe.

 

CE QU’ON ATTEND DE MOI

March 26, 28, 29 & 30 at 6:30 & 9 p.m., March 27 at 7:30 p.m. (World Theatre Day) - La Nouvelle Scène Gilles Desjardins

Conceived and created by Philippe Cyr and Gilles Poulin-Denis // Coproduced by L’Homme allumette and 2PAR4 // Hosted by NAC French Theatre and Théâtre du Trillium

Every evening, one audience member is selected to be the show’s central figure. A performance for non-actors, a human experiment about free will and social conditioning, a hybrid work that enlists the codes of documentary and cinéma vérité.

 

AMERICANDREAM.CA
(la trilogie)

April 24, 25, 26 & 27 at 7 p.m. - Azrieli Studio - (In French, with some English dialogue surtitled in French)

Written by Claude Guilmain // Directed by Louise Naubert and Claude Guilmain // Produced by Théâtre la Tangente

A suspenseful, tender and comical tale where past and present collide. A family saga that reveals a quest for happiness thwarted by the vicissitudes of life. A road trip both personal and universal that questions our fascination with the American dream.

 

PINOCCHIO

May 29, 30 & 31 at 7:30 p.m., June 1 at 4 p.m. - Babs Asper Theatre

A theatrical creation by Joël Pommerat // Based on the story by Carlo Collodi // Produced by Compagnie Louis Brouillard

This version of Pinocchio traces a vile, ungrateful puppet’s rite of passage toward becoming human. Stripping the familiar story of its marvellous bestiary, the play exposes the harsh reality at its core, in all its troubling strangeness. An extraordinary piece of theatre, the kind only Joël Pommerat can create.

 

THE ARTISTRY OF JULIE CHARLAND

Brigitte Haentjens has once again entrusted the visual interpretation of her new season to artist and costume designer Julie Charland. Charland’s creations, with their abundance of clear or cryptic meanings, straightaway plunge us into a dreamlike world in which we remain immersed until we reach the theatre exit and become more fully aware of the artistry we have just witnessed. Here are a couple of samples from the works she created for Quills, AmericanDream.ca (la trilogie), Le songe d’une nuit d’été and Pinocchio.

 

For detailed season information, visit CNA-NAC.CA/TF

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