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The Dragonfly of Chicoutimi flies to Vancouver
Théâtre la Seizième, the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival and SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs are proud to present The Dragonfly of Chicoutimi by award-winning author Larry Tremblay. Produced by Théâtre Pàp (Montreal), this French show written with English words will be presented at the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts (Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre) from January 22 to 25, 2014.
Daniel Parent, Étienne Pilon, Dany Boudreault, Patrice Dubois and Mani Soleymanlou © Danny Taillon
First performed in 1995, on the eve of the Quebec referendum, The Dragonfly of Chicoutimi caused a sensation and became a piece of essential playwriting that defined a wave of French-Canadian work. In the deft hands of celebrated director Claude Poissant the work resonates with new relevance in a bold re-imagining that turns the play’s monologue structure on its head.
Gaston Talbot, the play’s anti-hero, leads the audience through an abyss of childhood memories and trauma, marked by a violent event that robs him of the ability to speak. When Gaston finally recovers his voice he can only speak English, filtered through his francophone consciousness. And in this way, he weaves a fantastical and disturbing tale that challenges our perception of truth. In this acclaimed production, five actors (Dany Boudreault, Patrice Dubois, Daniel Parent, Étienne Pilon and Mani Soleymanlou) embody the play’s protagonist, delivering a linguistic tour de force like a chorus of Gaston’s fractured mind.
LARRY TREMBLAY is a writer, director, actor and specialist in Kathakali. He has published some twenty books (theatre, essay, novel, poetry) and is one of Quebec’s most-produced playwrights. Thanks to an uninterrupted succession of new plays, Tremblay’s work continues to achieve international recognition. His plays have been translated in over a dozen languages and produced in several countries. In 2006, he was awarded the Canada Council Victor-Martyn-Lynch-Staunton Prize for his contribution to the theatre. In 2008, Abraham Lincoln va au théâtre premiered at Espace Go in Montreal, directed by Claude Poissant (Théâtre PÀP), was nominated for Best Production of the year by the Quebec Theatre Critics Association. In 2008, he was finalist for the Siminovitch Prize, the most prestigious theatre prize in Canada.
Founder, artistic co-director and general director of the Théâtre PÀP (founded in 1978), CLAUDE POISSANT is an acclaimed theatre director, author and actor. One of the key figures of Quebec theatre in the last thirty years, he is an explorer, pioneer and defender of words. He has directed many plays written by prominent Quebec authors but also, under his direction, several young authors were discovered and heard for the first time (Geneviève Billette, Fanny Britt, François Létourneau, Jonathan Harnois, Étienne Lepage). He also introduced many contemporary playwrights from Canada and abroad to the Quebec public. Futhermore, he is the author of a dozen plays, some of which he created at the Théâtre PÀP.
THÉÂTRE PÀP has passionately promoted and developed contemporary playwriting to introduce emerging playwrights and to create opportunities for artists to deliver original works of art since 1978. It ensures that young artists and experienced craftsmen can work side by side and combine their talents. This prolific Montreal-based company has produced more than 80 plays, primarily by contemporary Quebec writers. theatrepap.com
