November 1-4, 2017, at 8 p.m., NAC Azrieli Studio

“Catherine Vidal’s direction, stripped of all artifice,
reflects her great sensitivity to Lygre’s text,
and the sparse set puts the focus squarely on the Norwegian playwright’s words ….
Vidal’s staging beautifully echoes the purity of the text.”
— Jérémy Laniel, Voir

 

OTTAWA, October 25, 2017 – Director Catherine Vidal, who brought a stunning stage adaptation of Agota Kristof’s novel Le grand cahier to the NAC in 2012, returns with an enigmatic chamber piece in which ordinary people overwhelmed by their fears slip outside of themselves, duplicate themselves, invent fantastical identities. A breathtaking reflection on absence and the fragility of the human connection.

Two women flee their country in haste. During their improvised escape from an unnamed threat, their start to lose their sense of self, and they engage in enigmatic role plays. Are they running from a political coup? A broken love affair? Norwegian playwright Arne Lygre’s ambiguous text deliberately avoids naming the catastrophe. His words construct a fantastical journey guided by Catherine Vidal, mistress of the art of exposing repressed emotion and distress, and of directing actors with a confident and precise hand.

 

The concept is rich, and the performers accomplished …
Marie-France Lambert is wonderful!
— Luc Boulanger, La Presse

Catherine Vidal is one of five artists chosen earlier this year by Brigitte Haentjens, Artistic Director of NAC French Theatre, to share the cash prize accompanying Ms. Haentjens’ Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for lifetime artistic achievement.

 

Written by Arne Lygre // Translated by Guillaume Corbeil // Directed by Catherine Vidal // With Larissa Corriveau, James Hyndman, Marie-France Lambert, Marie-Claude Langlois and Macha Limonchik // Assistant director: Alexandra Sutto // Lighting: François Marceau // Sound design: Francis Rossignol // Costume and set design assistant: Marilène Bastien // Assistant director intern: Ariane Brière