Ottawa, August 19, 2021 – Programmed by Brigitte Haentjens and led by incoming artistic director Mani Soleymanlou, NAC French Theatre’s 2021–22 season for general audiences explores notions of interconnection. To mark the long-awaited return to the stage, nine shows invite spectators on a sensory journey that navigates the border between reality and the imagination.

Brigitte Haentjens’ final season comprises a range of in-depth, sensitive works created by artists of all backgrounds, many of whom are familiar to French Theatre audiences. A glimpse into their worlds is already available in the Portrait(s) series of in-depth interviews conducted by Brigitte and Mani: https://nac-cna.ca/fr/video/series/portraits-le-theatre-a-lavant-plan.

It’s an immense pleasure to be able to bring you this final season, on stage and in person. We’ve really been looking forward to welcoming our audiences back to the theatre. This contact, this communion that only human presence allows is essential to artists and to theatre itself.

– Brigitte Haentjens, outgoing artistic director

Are you ready to be projected into the future with Mani Soleymanlou, lulled by the voice of the bewitching Marie Brassard, disoriented by the stage effects of the creators of White Out, mesmerized by the words of Jonathan Roy, challenged by the vision of Joël Pommerat? Our theatres are just waiting for you to say YES!

 

2042

September 29 and October 1 & 2, 2021

Produced by NAC French Theatre

Imagine what 2042 will be like. That is the secret mission given to 30 artists from Ottawa and Gatineau. Anything goes, and we mean anything. Mani Soleymanlou has created a unifying event to mark NAC French Theatre’s return to the stage. Slam, dramatic and musical performances await you!

 

Rêve et folie

October 27 & 28, 2021

Produced by Sibyllines, the Festival international de littérature (FIL) and NAC French Theatre

Brigitte Haentjens’ new work offers a radical and vertical exploration of Rêve et folie (“dream and delirium”) by expressionist poet Georg Trakl, performed by her long-time associate, Sébastien Ricard. Together, they deliver a dense, blistering show in the tradition of La nuit juste avant les forêts.

 

Savèches, une fragmentation contemporaine en trois mouvements

December 1–4, 2021

Produced by Théâtre populaire d’Acadie and NAC French Theatre

How do we cope in a world where technology sometimes seems overwhelming? In this portrait/critique of our contemporary brains, which, like moths, are swallowed up by luminous screens, Acadian poet Jonathan Roy traces an introspective course that navigates between the construction of identity and the consequences of the democratization of information. Will we find our way home?

 

Violence

March 3–5, 2022

Produced by Infrarouge in association with Festival TransAmériques, NAC French Theatre, Theater der Welt (Düsseldorf), Athens and Epidaurus Festival (Athens) and Usine C

Developed with support from the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund

The bewitching Marie Brassard presents the fruit of a poetic reflection on the perception of time and the learning of brutality. Hybrid and dreamlike, this new creation is at once an ode to the gravity and beauty of children’s imagination, an exploration of catastrophe and the power of art, and a reflection on the violence of nature protecting itself from humanity.

 

Les dix commandements de Dorothy Dix

March 9–12, 2022

Produced by UBU compagnie de création, ESPACE GO and La Colline – théâtre national (Paris)

Based on the ten-point plan for happiness written by American columnist and journalist Dorothy Dix and on the experiences of her own grandmother, Stéphanie Jasmin weaves a self-scrutiny transposed to the present. Performed by Julie Lebreton, her distinctive character oscillates between implacable lucidity, amazement, and stunning flashes of insight.

 

White Out

April 6–9, 2022

Produced by L’eau du bain

Developed with support from the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Canada Council for the Arts, the University of Ottawa Theatre Department and Hexagram-UQAM

In an installation inspired by the room overlooking the dark sea that is the setting for Marguerite Duras’ novel La maladie de la mort, a woman has taken refuge. The space has recorded all the dramas that have taken place there, and plays them back in random order. A space between two worlds where the whiteness outside also evokes the emptiness inside.

 

La campagne

May 4–7, 2022

Produced by Pétrus and Groupe de la Veillée

Corinne and Richard and their children have traded the hustle and bustle of the city for a more rural setting. But on a sultry, seemingly endless night, the disturbing arrival of a young stranger, Rebecca, in their home threatens to destroy their fragile equilibrium.

 

Contes et légendes

June 1–4, 2022

Produced by Compagnie Louis Brouillard

For his fifth visit to NAC French Theatre, Joël Pommerat offers an anticipatory fictional documentary about the construction of self in adolescence and the myth of the artificial being. Like an anthropologist of the future, he observes a series of relationships between adolescents, adults and androids. More than a discourse on the dangers of artificial intelligence, Contes et légendes investigates the ambiguities of these different modes of existence and truth through a constellation of insightful and amusing moments.

 

Corps titan (titre de survie)

June 15–18, 2022

Produced by Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, L’Homme allumette and NAC French Theatre

What makes the difference between a fatal accident and a miracle? In 2013, while out riding her bike, actor Audrey Talbot is hit by a heavy truck. Her body is in tatters and her brain goes on standby, but she clings to life. Tracking down the people who saved her at the time of the accident (of which she has no memory), Audrey reconstructs her own story.

 

To learn more about this season, click here

 

THE WORKS OF DOMINIQUE T. SKOLTZ

To illustrate this rather special season, French Theatre has teamed up with photographer and multidisciplinary artist Dominique T. Skoltz. Her images invite us to meet and renew the connections weakened by the pandemic.

 

TICKETS
Tickets for NAC performances taking place up until November 30 are on sale as of 10 a.m. on August 19th. Later this fall, the NAC will announce additional programming and ticketing information for Winter 2021-2022.

To purchase tickets to upcoming NAC performances, visit Ticketmaster to purchase tickets online or call 1-888-991-2787 (ARTS). In-person purchases at the NAC Box Office are suspended until further notice. For more information, please visit www.nac-cna.ca/season.

As the NAC transitions back towards an in-person performance model, we continue to monitor evolving public health circumstances. The upcoming 2021-2022 season will feature works that can be experienced safely and comfortably, congruent with public health guidelines. The well-being of audiences, artists and staff remains the NAC’s highest priority. Health and safety protocols, including seating capacity in the halls, will reflect ongoing public health guidelines. To prepare for your (re)awaken in-person experience, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/visit. 
 

ABOUT NAC FRENCH THEATRE

NAC French Theatre presents theatre in step with the times, theatre that reflects and responds to emerging artistic trends both at home and abroad and actively contributes to advancing contemporary stage writing and directing. This artistic trajectory is expressed through national and international co-productions, new works and touring productions. French Theatre offers audiences shows that stand out for the diversity of the forms they present and the emotions they trigger. Its programming is rich in original writing and vision, in brilliant staging, and in the powerful words of artists who enchant, challenge or unsettle audiences, but never leave them indifferent. French Theatre audiences have come to expect an emotional and intellectual adventure that is profoundly and authentically human.

 

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INFORMATION: 

Camylle Gauthier-Trépanier 
Communications Officer 
camylle.gauthier-trepanier@cna-nac.ca 
450-209-7136 
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