Constructive, poetic and socially committed experiment by Marie?Josée Bastien, Mathieu Gosselin, Étienne Lepage and Jean?Frédéric Messier, directed by Benoît Vermeulen.

With Ève Duranceau, Eve Landry, Kim Lavack?Paquin and Philippe Racine.

Artistic contributors: Raymond Marius Boucher, Nathalie Derome, Mathieu Marcil, Jean?Frédéric Messier, Geneviève Gagnon and Noémi Poulin.

A Théâtre Le Clou Montreal) production, in coproduction with the National Arts Centre French Theatre through a creative residency at Montreal’s Maison Théâtre.

The script of Éclats et autres libertés won the 2010 Louise?LaHaye Prize awarded by the Centre des auteurs dramatiques (CEAD).

Congratulations to playwrights Marie?Josée Bastien, Mathieu Gosselin, Étienne Lepage and Jean?Frédéric Messier.

Running time: 70 minutes, with no intermission.

School matinees available.

The National Arts Centre (NAC) French Theatre is delighted to welcome this Théâtre Le Clou production, winner of the 2010 Louise?Lahaye Prize awarded by the Centre des auteurs dramatiques (CEAD). This show is first and foremost a human adventure that enlists effort as its driving creative force, as director Benoît Vermeulen (French Theatre’s Artistic Associate, Youth Programs) explains:

“Four playwrights, four actors, the design team and I, gathered in the rehearsal hall, all set to undertake a free and wide-ranging creative adventure. Our starting point: the notion of effort, in all its vibrant complexity. Why ‘effort’? For its importance as an essential tool in achieving a measure of well-being, in changing our approach, in evolving, in experiencing the satisfaction of not getting stuck in a rut. All this in reaction to a social culture that increasingly favours the lowest possible common denominator; a culture that perceives intelligence as a threat and conformity as a desirable goal. The notion of effort gradually led us to explore the importance of movement, of construction: constructing an identity, constructing intellectual freedom, constructing a poetic space.

“A set of characters took shape... a group of free thinkers who celebrate life and all its freedoms, who seek out creativity and risk and reject complacency, creature comforts, convention and control. Characters who struggle against abdicating the self and blindly following the beaten path; characters who fight for intellectual freedom, for the freedom to act, for a complete repatterning of customs and standards. Characters who convey all the strength and courage of youth, its vitality and power, through what they themselves have dubbed ‘a constructive, poetic, and socially committed experiment.’”

So what is Éclats et autres libertés about?

It’s about Lili, Thibault, Anaïs and Philémon, four passionate young people linked by an effervescent creativity. Terrified of blending in with the crowd, they devise an ingenious set of defences... Poetry, humour, art and philosophy are their weapons of choice as they prepare to wage war on complacency and conformity. These are four teens at a creative peak!

The 11^th original production by Théâtre Le Clou, Éclats et autres libertés invites the audience into a theatrical installation where images appear and transform before our eyes, objects take on unexpected functions, public and private space intermingles, and characters reveal their authentic selves through poetry. The result is an unsettling snapshot of our time that stresses the importance of practising intellectual self-defence.

POST-SHOW TALKBACK HOSTED BY BENOÎT VERMEULEN:
The Friday?evening performance will be followed by an informal Q&A session with the cast and creative team.

RESERVATIONS:
www.nac-cna.ca

TICKETMASTER:
613-755-1111

NAC BOX OFFICE:
53 Elgin Street, Ottawa
Monday–Saturday
10 a.m.–9 p.m.

TICKETS:
Regular $18.79
Students $18.79

GROUPS OF 10 OR MORE:
Save 15% to 20% off regular ticket prices
613-947-7000, ext. 384
grp@nac-cna.ca

 

MEDIA CONTACT:
(Ms.) Aude Rahmani
Communications Officer, French Theatre
613-947-7000, ext. 396
Cell: 613-558-1322
arahmani@nac-cna.ca