Theatre proves to be a universal language
French and English productions enter a cultural exchange
How are the two solitudes being bridged in the Montreal theatre world? Let me count the ways.
Several English-language theatre companies are producing plays by francophones this season: Centaur Theatre has just launched August, An Afternoon in the Country, by Jean Marc Dalpé, translated by Maureen Labonté, and Talisman Theatre is about to present The Medea Effect, by Suzie Bastien, translated by Nadine Desrochers. In the spring, Imago Theatre will present (at Centaur) the Quebec English premiere of Thinking of Yu, by Carole Fréchette, translated by John Murrell.
Meanwhile, an atmospheric production of Morris Panych’s The Dishwashers is playing (as Les Dishwasheurs) in St-Henri thanks to Momentum, a francophone company. And Théâtre de la Manufacture recently presented two English-Canadian plays at La Licorne: a Mansel Robinson work titled II (Deux), translated into French by Dalpé, and the French debut of Porte Parole’s Seeds, by Annabel Soutar, translated by Fanny Britt as Grain(s).
English surtitles are often provided on Friday nights at La Licorne, which is by far the most bicultural francophone theatre in town, favouring Scottish and Irish plays in translation as well as English-Canadian ones. An Irish play, Moment, by Deirdre Kinahan, is now playing there, translated by Maryse Warda as Ce moment-là. The multi-arts centre Usine C also offers some delicious theatre surprises, like this weekend’s Halifax import Invisible Atom, written and performed by Anthony Black of 2b theatre company, performed in French as well as English.
The Segal Centre has co-produced several times with Théâtre du Rideau Vert, welcomes French companies in its Studio Theatre, and provides simultaneous translation in French as well as English for its Yiddish Theatre productions.
Talisman Theatre actually specializes in producing English translations of French-language works. Its mandate is to bring “the visceral intensity of Québécois theatrical practices to non-francophones.”
The Medea Effect is little known in francophone Montreal, having only been produced in French in Quebec City, directed by Marie Gignac, in 2005.
Thus Talisman, which was founded in 2005 by Emma Tibaldo and current artistic director Lyne Paquette, is encouraging Montreal audiences to embrace a playwright (Bastien) who is respected in Quebec literary/theatrical circles — and in Europe — but hasn’t yet found her place on Montreal stages.
“Talisman is very germane to who Lyne and I are as people,” Tibaldo explained, “because she’s bilingual, I’m trilingual and we both grew up in Montreal. So we are part of the Québécois culture.”
Yet English, not French, is their language of creation.
They discovered The Medea Effect by reading it, not seeing it on stage. “We read about 60 or 70 plays each year,” Tibaldo said. Only once have they seen a French production of a Quebec play they produced (Rock, Paper, Jackknife in 2009), and that was only after they had done their own version.
Tibaldo, who has been the artistic and executive producer of Play- wrights’ Workshop Montreal (she now works for Talisman as a freelancer) for almost five years, is not as averse to reading plays as some artistic directors are. It’s her job to work with playwrights from across Canada who are in the process of creation. (Among PWM’s recent projects: Schwartz’s, the Musical, at Centaur, and Geordie Theatre’s upcoming Robin Hood.)
The Medea Effect takes its cue from the Greek classic Medea, by Euripides. A woman who has taken a 10-year hiatus from the theatre returns to audition for a production of Medea, directed by a man who is rather baffled by his own motives for choosing it. “The audition takes a huge twist to being about them,” Tibaldo said.
Jennifer Morehouse, who plays the woman, was supposed to play Medea for Tibaldo when she was a directing student at the National Theatre School 10 years ago. This time, Morehouse stepped in to re- place another actor. “The whole process has been a play within itself,” Tibaldo observed. Franco-Ontarian actor Eloi ArchamBaudoin plays the director.
August, An Afternoon in the Country playwright Dalpé was born in Ottawa and has an anglophone mother. He and his translator (and wife) Labonté, a bilingual Montreal francophone, have lived with bilingualism all of their lives.
“I think the younger generation is more open,” Labonté said. “They’re more comfortable with the other language and the other culture.”
She pointed out that her translation of August, An Afternoon in the Country was first produced at the playRites festival in Calgary, in 2008, two years after it premièred in French at La Licorne.
Current appearances to the contrary, Dalpé said he doesn’t think the rate of bilingual exchange has differed much over 25 years. (His career took off with Le Chien in 1988.) “It definitely hasn’t accelerated,” he said. “You would have hoped there would be more. It hasn’t happened. Some people are talking to each other. And some people aren’t.”
Asked which side is more open to crossing linguistic borders, he replied: “Honestly, I don’t think there’s one side that’s more open than another. We’re still in a minority, those that want crossover.”
Recently, he mentioned vedette Marie Tifo in conversation with an anglophone — who drew a blank. Similarly, he talked about the Shaw Festival to a francophone who had no idea where it was located. “There is that mutual ignorance that’s basically there,” he said.
The Medea Effect opens Thursday and continues until Oct. 20 at Théâtre La Chapelle, 3700 St. Dominique St. Call 514-843-7738 or visit www.lachapelle.org.