Plume is cheerful and vivacious, a real chatterbox. Taciturne, on the other hand, is not very talkative but is observant, a good listener whose passion is music. They live next door to each other, and between words and music they find out about each other, smooth over their differences and share their mutual fear of the night and its mysteries. Under the light of the moon, they become friends. This poetic fable by Suzanne Lebeau directly addresses the idea of being open to the other and to the world by means of a symbolic universe that small children instinctively understand.

This show has been presented to NAC audiences on three occasions (December 1984, November 1987 and May 1993) in the original version of this mainstay of Canadian children’s theatre. The last play of the 2011-2012 Théâtre français season, this new staging of Une lune entre deux maisons is making its Canadian première at the NAC.

“I want this new version of Lune to be as rich and complete as the original 1979 production,” notes the director. “It is a reflection of the imagination of a new generation of artists speaking to a new generation of spectators, a grand adventure… for you, for your children seeing it for the first time and for us, the members of the creative team.”

After graduating from the National Theatre School of Canada in 2006, Marie-Eve Huot decided to focus on plays for young audiences and that same year co-founded the Théâtre Ébouriffé. In 2008 she received a grant from the Conseil des Arts de Montréal that allowed her to embark on a six-month artistic residency with Théâtre Carrousel, which is now a Théâtre Ébouriffé sponsor. In the fall of 2009 Marie-Eve Huot was a member of the cast of Assoiffés, produced by Théâtre Le Clou, directed by Benoît Vermeulen and presented at the NAC in April 2010. With Théâtre Bouches Décousues, she participated in the creation of Marguerite, which was also part of the 2011-2012 Théâtre français season. The recipient of a grant from the CALQ arts council, Marie-Eve Huot is working on a script about aviation entitled Nœuds papillon, which was part of the 2011 Festival du Jamais Lu program. She is the first guest director at the Carrousel since 1987.

After starting out as an actress, Suzanne Lebeau founded Théâtre Carrousel with Gervais Gaudreault in 1975 and gradually left acting behind to focus on writing. She has written more than 25 original plays, three adaptations and several translations. Her plays have been published all over the world and translated into 19 languages: Une lune entre deux maisons (1979), the first Canadian play written specifically for very young children, has been translated into six languages; Salvador (1994), presented on Broadway at the New Victory Theatre and at the NAC (1996), into five languages; L'Ogrelet has been presented in French, English, Italian and Spanish by the Carrousel and also translated into German, Galician, Greek, Mayan, Portuguese, Russian and Xhosa. Le bruit des os qui craquent, created by the Carrousel in 2009 and presented at the NAC later that same year, was also performed at the Comédie-Française (2010 and 2011). The importance of Suzanne Lebeau’s work and her exceptional contribution to the promotion and development of theatre for young audiences, both in Canada and abroad, has been honoured with several awards and distinctions. In 1998 the “Assemblée internationale des parlementaires de langue française” awarded her the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Pléiade, and in 2010 she was the recipient of the Quebec government’s Athanase David Award, the most prestigious career honour for a Quebec writer.

Through its approach to childhood and to art for children the Carrousel has established an impressive reputation, nationally and internationally, over the past four decades. With an emphasis on research and creation that pushes the limits of the permissible and the possible, the thrust of the company’s agenda is the question, What do we say to children?, as it investigates children’s place in the world. Creative partners Gervais Gaudreault and Suzanne Lebeau have generated an impressive body of original work that calls on the evocative power of theatre with plays that are considered, both locally and internationally, as important milestones in the history of theatre for young audiences.

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.

Written by
SUZANNE LEBEAU

Directed by
MARIE-EVE HUOT

With
SIMON LABELLE-OUIMET
PHILOMÈNE LÉVESQUE-RAINVILLE

Assistant director
DOMINIQUE CUERRIER

Set design
PATRICE CHARBONNEAU-BRUNELLE

Costumes
CYNTHIA SAINT-GELAIS

Lightning
THOMAS GODEFROID

Sound design
NICOLAS LETARTE

Make-up and hair
SUZANNE TRÉPANIER

Technical and production director
DOMINIQUE GAGNON

Control room (alternating)
ÉRIC GENDRON
ALEXI RIOUX

Light control (alternating)
NICOLAS FORTIN
DOMINIQUE GAGNON

Created by the theatre company
LE CARROUSEL
in residence at
THÉÂTRE DE LA VILLE DE LONGUEUIL

School Matinées
WEDNESDAY, MAY 23 AT 9:45 A.M.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 23 AT 12:45 P.M.
THURSDAY, MAY 24 AT 9:45 A.M.
THURSDAY, MAY 24 AT 11:30 A.M.
FRIDAY, MAY 25 AT 9:45 A.M.
FRIDAY, MAY 25 AT 12:45 P.M.

Public Performances
SATURDAY, MAY 26 AT 1:30 P.M.*
SUNDAY, MAY 27 AT 1:30 P.M.
SUNDAY, MAY 27 AT 3:30 P.M.

*Performance followed by a talk-back

Because of Ottawa Race Weekend, we urge all NAC patrons to ALLOW PLENTY OF TIME to get to the NAC and/or find a parking spot, whether in the NAC parking garage or elsewhere.

Length of the performance
40 minutes without 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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