For her first program as artistic director, Angela Konrad affirms that it seems to her “urgent to think about the present and the future of Usine C, as a place where a world to be reconstructed is represented, a place which seeks to to open a breach in the horizon through the dissemination of outstanding works by committed artists”.
Opening this new season, we resume the magnificent Tableau final de l’amour, the adaptation of the novel by Larry Tremblay on the cursed couple formed by Francis Bacon and George Dyer. Sold out last May, this show directed by Konrad is carried by Benoit McGinnis and Samuël Côté. In the spring of 2024, we will be able to see the complete cycle of Vernon Subutex. An adaptation of the three volumes of Virginie Despentes’ sulphurous novel designed and directed by Angela Konrad.
The theater will also host the new work by author Martin Crimp, Not one of these people, directed by Christian Lapointe. The great French actress Dominique Blanc will come to play Pain, by Duras, in a production by the late Patrice Chéreau. Feminist for men, by Noémie de Lattre, with Sophie Cadieux, will be presented in revival in December, while the brilliant Mani Soleymanlou will offer Zéro, a new solo where he will talk about legacy and transmission (from April 2 to 6).
On the dance side, choreographer and dancer Louise Lecavalier will resume in the fall Stations, her acclaimed solo in Canada and abroad. Public Confession, a choreography by Mélanie Demers, will take the stage at Usine C at the end of November, with dancer Angélique Willkie. Soft virtuosity, still humid on the edge, a piece by Marie Chouinard, will also be on view on January 12.
It should be noted that the artist Caroline Monnet is part of the Residency in Native Arts program, for her research-creation in view of her next work, The Roaring Twenties.
For its 2023-2024 season, the Prospero is offering 13 shows in the main room and in the intimate room of the Centre-Sud theatre. Among the house productions of Prospero, we can see in January the piece Membrane, created by Cédric Delorme-Bouchard. The latter continues his scenic writing approach around futuristic universes, after Employees, presented last season at Prospero.
This will be followed in March by an original adaptation of Chekhov’s La mouette, signed by the author Guillaume Corbeil and directed by Catherine Vidal. She will lead an exceptional cast: Simon Beaulé-Bulman, Nathalie Claude, Frédéric Desager, Renaud Lacelle-Bourdon, Macha Limonchik, Igor Ovadis, Olivia Palacci, Daniel Parent, Madeleine Sarr and Mattis Savard-Verhoeven.
As a revival, Ivan Viripaev’s Insoutenables Longues Étreintes show, brilliantly directed by Philippe Cyr, will be presented from December 5 to 16, 2023. With the same solid cast: Christine Beaulieu, Marc Beaupré, Joanie Guérin and Simon Lacroix.
Several host shows will be presented in both venues, including Hidden Paradise, from September 5 to 16. This piece created in 2018 by Alix Dufresne, with his accomplice Marc Béland, is a diamond in the rough of Quebec creation. On the side of the intimate room, a unique proposal: the veteran choreographer Paul-André Fortier signs a very first staging for the theater. For the occasion, he invited Tristan Malavoy to write a text which will be defended on stage by Étienne Pilon. Les Arcanes is presented as part of the International Literature Festival, from September 26 to October 14.
Concerned that its programming remains accessible to as many people as possible, the management of Prospero is offering “new flexible pricing based on trust” this season. Regardless of their age, the public is free to choose the rate best suited to their situation, from $25 to $50. “The cost of the ticket and the income should not be obstacles to the performing arts”, explains Philippe Cyr.
