Once upon a time there were three brave children: First, the wounded one, neglected by her parents; Second, the trusting one, serene but far too obedient; And third, the handicapped one, the object of cruel taunts. One day they decided to make a break for the great ocean, to breathe deeply, to wash away hurt, fear and disability, to follow their childhood dreams of freedom.

Iode Ssouvie and her family live on the shores of the St. Lawrence River in a steamboat that they have transformed into a home. Asie Azothe, a young Finnish girl, lives in a house on the opposite shore. Iode and Asie become fast friends, ready for anything. “We were born to travel!” proclaims Iode. They share a mad dream, to sail down the coast to Tierra des Fuego because “once you set off for adventure, anything is possible”.

Sylvain Scott presents audiences with a plunge into the world of the major Quebec writer Réjean Ducharme. Here everything is powerful, with larger-than-life and sometimes monstrous characters who express themselves in a language that is candid and poetic. Every theatrical convention is employed in portraying this tragicomic demonstration of the world of childhood in reaction to the adult world.

L’Océantume was initially presented in Montreal in January 2011 during a residency at the Maison de la culture Frontenac. Focus groups of adolescents were invited to sit in on the creative process at different stages: readings, run-throughs, experimental performances. These presentations were followed by discussions and commentary from the young audience, as well as suggestions and criticism.

Born in 1941 in St. Félix-de-Valois, Réjean Ducharme is an author, playwright, scriptwriter and sculptor. He lives in anonymous reclusion and systematically refuses to be interviewed. At age 24 in 1966, his first novel L’Avalée des avalés was published by Gallimard in Paris and was an immediate success. Among his more outstanding works are Le nez qui voque (1967), L'Océantume (1968), La Fille de Christophe Colomb (1969), L'Hiver de force (1973) and Les Enfantômes (1976). In conjunction with his career as a writer, Ducharme also works in theatre, cinema, visual art (under the pseudonym Roch Plante) and song. His 1968 plays Ines Pérée et Inat Tendu and Le Cid maghané were his initial contact with playwrighting, and in the 1970s he began a fruitful collaboration with Robert Charlebois, writing many song lyrics for him. Regardless of the medium he works in, Ducharme plunges the spectator into a universe marked by themes of childhood, solitude and rejection of the world of adults. His writing portrays a pessimism tinged with humour and word play, where neologisms abound.

The co-artistic director of Théâtre Le Clou, Sylvain Scott has directed for the company plays such as La langue du caméléon, L’héritage de Darwin and Isberg. An actor, singer, director and composer, he has worked on several productions. He was at Théâtre du Rideau Vert in Un violon sur le toit, acted in plays presented by Productions Libretto (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, Frères de sang and L’Homme de la Mancha) and performed at the TNM (Antoine et Cléopâtre, Jeanne Dark, L'Opéra de quat'sous) and also for Productions À tour de rôle (Un gorille à Broadway). In 2003 his performance of Sancho Panca led to a nomination for a Masques award. In 2005 at Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui he presented a solo entitled La vraie vie est ailleurs, a musical play based on songs by Réjean Ducharme and Robert Charlebois. As a composer he has created original music for a dozen plays by various companies such as TNM, Théâtre Le Clou and Théâtre Bouches Décousues. He teaches in the musical theatre program at Collège Lionel-Groulx, and directed the graduating class productions of Les Fantastiques, Nuit Night Notte and Tombés du nid. He is currently polishing the final draft of a libretto for a musical about convicted murderer Cordélia Viau.

« Le Clou a magnifié les personnages de Ducharme, déjà riches. Anne Trudel revêt des habits et des manières de poupée scintillante et un brin clownesque pour interpréter Asie Azote, tandis que Marie-Claude Guérin joue une bouillonnante Iode Ssouvie, sauvage et fonceuse. »
Erick Labbé, Le Soleil

« La mise en scène de Sylvain Scott respecte tout à fait l’esprit de Réjean Ducharme ; le grotesque s’amalgame à la poésie. Encombrée, la scène rappelle cette "poétique du débris" dont parle Élisabeth Nardout-Lafarge, afin d’illustrer le style ducharmien. »
Chloé Legault, montheatre.qc.ca

From a novel from
RÉJEAN DUCHARME

Adapted, directed and designed by
SYLVAIN SCOTT

With
CARMEN FERLAN
MARIE-CLAUDE GUÉRIN
GUILLAUME TELLIER
ANNE TRUDEL

Lightning
LUC PRAIRIE

Costumes
LINDA BRUNELLE

Sound
ANTOINE BÉDARD

Makeup and wigs
JEAN BEGIN

Dramaturgy
MARTIN FAUCHER

Assistant Director and Control room
DOMINIQUE CUERRIER

Production and Technical Director
CARLOS PONTE

Technical Director and Control room
NICOLAS FORTIN

Produced by
THÉÂTRE LE CLOU

Presented in collaboration with
Radio-Canada

School Matinées
TUESDAY MARCH 27 AT 12:30 P.M.
WEDNESDAY MARCH 28 AT 9:45 A.M.
WEDNESDAY MARCH 28 AT 12:30 P.M.
THURSDAY MARCH 29 AT 12:30 P.M.
VENDREDI 30 MARS AT 12:30 P.M.

Public performances
FRIDAY MARCH 30 AT 8:00 P.M.*
SATURDAY MARCH 31 AT 8:00 P.M.

* Post-performance talkback session hosted by Benoît Vermeulen

Timing
65 minutes with no intermission

NAC STUDIO
53 Elgin, Ottawa

Tickets
$18.79

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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