The French Theatre of the National Arts Centre and the Service des arts, de la culture et des lettres de la ville de Gatineau are pleased to announce a staged public reading of Dehors, the most recent play by the Saskatchewan francophone artist Gilles Poulin-Denis. It will take place on Saturday, June 16, 2012 at 8 p.m. at Espace René-Provost (39 Leduc St., Gatineau – Hull sector), and a talkback session will follow the reading. The actors Marie-Josée Bastien, Jean-Jacqui Boutet, Véronique Côté, Hugues Frenette, Jean-Sébastien Ouellette and Igor Ovadis will be lending their voices to this reading.

A writer associated with French Theatre since 2008, Gilles Poulin-Denis began writing Dehors in workshops and meetings in Ottawa with Wajdi Mouawad and writers Emma Haché and Luc Moquin. In May 2009 a staged reading of an excerpt from the piece was presented at the Festival du Jamais Lu. In 2009-2010, further work on the play occurred during a one-week workshop at Théâtre La Seizième in Vancouver with director Craig Holzschuh. The project continued to develop in 2010-2011 in collaboration with Wajdi Mouawad, who spent a week working on the piece in Saskatoon with Gilles Poulin-Denis in February 2012.

Synopsis  Arnaud returns to the family homestead after a ten-year absence. As a war correspondent he has travelled all over the world, earning a living telling other people’s stories. After learning of the death of his father while in a far-off land, he grudgingly decides to journey home. His brother Armand, who has stayed on the family farm, gives him the cold shoulder and insists he leave as soon as possible. With two brothers in opposition, the gap between them widens, the silence intensifies and a festering wound erupts.

Born and raised in Saskatoon, Gilles Poulin-Denis left the Prairies to study theatre at the University of Quebec in Montreal. His play Rearview was presented in Saskatoon in 2009 and went on to tour Canada with performances in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec City and Montreal. That same year, the play won best production and playwrighting honours at the Saskatoon and Area Theatre Awards. Published by Dramaturges Éditeurs, the play was also nominated for a Governor General’s literary award in 2010. Several short plays of his have been presented in various theatres in Montreal, and he also works as a dramaturge and translator. He is currently working on two projects – a play for the general public, and another aimed at an adolescent audience.

Even though admission is free, reservations are required. To book your seats, please call 819-243-8000.

Information
Guy Warin
French Theatre
National Arts Centre
613-947-7000, ext 581
guy.warin@nac-cna.ca

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