Written by Louise Dupré and directed by Ottawa artist André Perrier, presented at the NAC on April 22 and 23

April 11, 2023 – OTTAWA (Canada) – Words have a history while also being ageless. In this playful and athletic show, they are bouncing balls, modeling clay, super glue to stay together...

She and He were inseparable. But one truly rotten day, He had to leave for a town so far away we’ve forgotten its name. She stayed behind, playing alone as if there were still two of them. Then She opens a box of old letters, a paper plane flies across the stage, words start to grow, they are smoke signals!

This inspiring text by Louise Dupré is brought to life by two athletic, energetic performers and the radiant presence of an incredible magician–musician. The creative team even visited real schools to collect gems of language from young people, and to make this rhythmic, sometimes boisterous show shine even brighter. 

An invitation to acclaim, all together, the inexhaustible pleasure of a shared language, Les mots secrets [The Secret Words] is a great celebration of poetry!

For audiences 7 and over.

PRE-SHOW ACTIVITY

Young and old alike are invited 45 minutes before the start of each performance to activate their imagination! What’s on? An aerial engineering exercise and spontaneous inventions of wacky words.

ABOUT THE WRITER AND THE DIRECTOR

Writer Louise Dupré taught literary creation for two decades at the Université du Québec à Montréal. A member of the Académie des lettres du Québec, the Royal Society of Canada, and the Order of Canada, she has received several awards for her work, including the Governor General’s Literary Award in poetry.

A unifying force on the Franco-Ontarian cultural scene, André Perrier is accomplished in several theatrical professions. He is an actor and playwright, but above all a director. He currently teaches at the University of Ottawa, and since 1990, has been the director of Théâtre Triangle Vital.

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

Azrieli Studio
April 22 and 23, 3 pm

Under30 tickets are for anybody under the age of 30. And yeah, that includes teens and kids!

To purchase tickets, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/31320 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS).  To find out what you need to know before accessing the building and facilities, click: https://nac-cna.ca/en/visit  

Visit the NAC website to learn more about the 2022–2023 NAC French Theatre season.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank Lead Donor, the Slaight Family Foundation, Supporting Partner of French Theatre, Québecor, and Official Hotel Partner, Embassy Hotel & Suites.

ABOUT THE NAC  

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-prod     uces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre in collaboration with Black Theatre Workshop, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Sylvain Lavoie
Communications Strategist, French Theatre
National Arts Centre
613-240-3786
sylvain.lavoie@nac-cna.ca