With temperatures abnormally high for the season, the bears in the zoo where Sacha works suffer from insomnia. He is also taking care of Marcus, a boy recently carried by the wind into his life. Poor Sacha the zookeeper tries as best he can to look after Marcus and to provide relief to the bears. If only winter would return, and if only Anita, the love of his life, would come back from her journey! Thrilled to have a home at last, Marcus tries hard to help the zookeeper, but Sacha’s condition is deteriorating. Will Sacha be able to keep Marcus with him? Will the bears finally be able to fall sleep? And what if the cause of their insomnia is not the climate but a broken heart?

Initially presented at Théâtre de la Ville de Longueuil last December, Les Ours dorment enfin (Bears Are Finally Sleeping) features two characters who embody realities to which young audiences are rarely exposed. Sacha is a case of professional burnout or even depression, an adult adrift, and Marcus is a tormented child tossed back and forth. Yet despite the gravity of their situation the piece if full of light and humour, for there is something clown-like about these two characters, their fervour and awkwardness. And that is perhaps the real theme of the play, the inability of humans to be in the world. To compensate for that failing, the playwright endows them with the strength of friendship and attachment. Sacha and Marcus have fallen for each other. Too many adults collapse under pressure, and too many children find themselves caught in the slipstream of adult stress. The piece thus paints a distinctly contemporary portrait.

Performances during the week are reserved for school groups, with weekend performances open to the public. Note that spectators are welcome to arrive up to 45 minutes before the show to take part in an activity for children.

Eldorado is a wondrous land of dreams and delights. The mission of L’Eldorado Théâtre is to take young audiences to that world of the imagination. Art is an important element in society as it stimulates ideas and reflection, conveys values and generates dreams, reflects beauty and stirs the imagination. The company, which always presents original scripts, likes to introduce children to art, helping them appreciate works of art and encouraging them to create art themselves.That is why children are involved in its creative process, and are active participants in its performances. It presents to young audiences plays imbued with poetry, and its staging gives pride of place to the body, with movement guiding the rhythm of the scenes.

Geneviève Billette has a B.A. in French literature from the University of Montreal, and is a graduate of the playwrighting program at the National Theatre School of Canada. Her plays include Crime contre l'humanité and Le Goûteur, (Théâtre PàP), Gibraltar in Les Zurbains (Théâtre Le Clou), Les Éphémères (Conservatoire de Montréal) and Le Pays des genoux (Le Carrousel). Her works have also been presented in France, Mexico, Switzerland and English Canada. Geneviève Billette received the playwrighting award from the Fonds Gratien-Gélinas (2001), the Paul Gilson award (2004) and also the Governor General’s Award (2005) for Le Pays des genoux. She has written several works for radio, and translated three Mexican plays. Her latest piece, Évariste Galois contre le temps, was presented in a staged reading by the CEAD in January 2009.

Director Stéphanie Lépine is a graduate of the UQÀM theatre program, and is currently completing a drama teaching degree. She is the artistic director of L'Eldorado, and as a playwright wrote Métamorphose and La Manivelle. She staged those two works, as well as L'Or bleu. When directing Les Ours dorment enfin, she was able to count on colleagues (Benoît Vermeulen and Théâtre Bouches Décousues) for assistance with difficult moments, such that the bears were finally able to sleep.

Written by
GENEVIÈVE BILLETTE

Directed by
STÉPHANIE LÉPINE

With
VINCENT MAGNAT
SÉBASTIEN RENÉ

Assistant Director and Control room
MARIE-CHRISTINE MARTEL

Set
GENEVIÈVE LIZOTTE

Set Assistant
VALÉRIE ARCHAMBAULT

Sound design
ERIC SHAW

Lightning
ANNE-MARIE RODRIGUE LECOURS

Accessories
VALÉRIE ARCHAMBAULT

Costumes
SOPHIE LIMOGES

Technical Director
JÉRÉMI GUILBAULT ASSELIN

Stage Manager and Control room
MARJORIE BÉLANGER

Creative Consultant
BENOÎT VERMEULEN

Produced by
L’ELDORADO THÉÂTRE

With the help of
THÉÂTRE BOUCHES DÉCOUSUES

Presented in collaboration with Radio-Canada

School Matinées
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29 at 9:45 a.m.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29 at 12:45 p.m.
THURSDAY, MARCH 1 at 9:45 a.m.
FRIDAY, MARCH 2 at 9:45 a.m.

Public Performances
SATURDAY, MARCH 3 at 1:30 p.m.*
SUNDAY, MARCH 4 at 1:30 p.m.
SUNDAY, MARCH 4 at 3:30 p.m.

*Post-performance talkback session

Timing
60 minutes with no intermission

NAC STUDIO
53 Elgin, Ottawa

Tickets
$13.96

NAC Box Office
(Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.)
www.nac-cna.ca

Ticketmaster
1-888-991-2787

Groups (10 persons or more)
613-947-7000, ext. 634
grp@nac-cna.ca

Subscriptions
613-947-7000, ext. 620

Sylvain Lavoie
Communications Officer
French Theatre
National Arts Centre
tel.: 613-947-7000 ext 396
tool free: 1-866-850-2787 ext 396
cell.: 613-979-2636
sylvain.lavoie@nac-cna.ca
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