News & Announcements
British Columbia Scene to feature two French-language plays
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
BC Scene is pleased to partner with Ottawa’s Théâtre la Catapulte to present two French-language theatre productions during next year’s festival (April 21–May 3, 2009).
Founded in 1992, Théâtre la Catapulte, a Franco-Ontarian theatre company specializing in new work, is acclaimed for its boldly innovative and original productions for adult and family audiences.
The first play is La Vue d’en haut (The View from Above) by B.C. playwright James Long, translated by Philippe Ducros, directed by Craig Holzschuh, and produced by Vancouver’s Théâtre la Seizième. Co-presented by Théâtre la Catapulte and BC Scene, it will run April 22 to 25, 2009 at La Nouvelle Scène.
A searing exploration of marginalization in today’s society, this deeply poignant, sensitive and compassionate play got rave reviews in Vancouver.
Vancouver, 2012. It’s been raining steadily for three years—so steadily, in fact, that the 2010 Winter Olympics had to be cancelled, but not before the city’s junkies and street people were rounded up and forcibly relocated to a giant silo on the edge of town. Now the land mass of the North Shore is collapsing, and houses are sliding down the hill. One house that’s still standing—barely—belongs to Stuart and Marsha. Their adult son, Roland, has just shown up with his girlfriend, Trish. Roland hasn’t seen his parents in years—not since he landed in the silo with the other junkies. As the characters struggle to survive in this apocalyptic scenario, tensions run high and the most unlikely schemes seem quite plausible…
The second play is RAGE, a thriller by acclaimed B.C. playwright Michele Riml about individual responsibility in the school system. Directed by Joël Beddows and co-produced by Théâtre la Catapulte in association with BC Scene, RAGE will run April 29 to May 2, 2009 at La Nouvelle Scène.
Director Joël Beddows felt it was important to stage this work, which has been described as a play that can literally change people’s lives. The original English-language production (by Vancouver’s Green Thumb Theatre in 2004) won the Sydney Risk Prize for Outstanding Original Play and the Jessie Richardson Award for Outstanding Theatre Production. The French translation is by Sarah Migneron (recipient of the 2004 Prix O’Neill Karch) in a first-time collaboration with Joël Beddows.
Raymond (who calls himself Rage) is about to be expelled from school for delivering a history presentation in which he appeared to sympathize with Adolf Hitler. He arrives for an interview with Laura, the school guidance counsellor, an idealistic pacifist. Raymond eloquently defends his actions and challenges Laura’s « theoretical » idealism. Their apparently innocuous meeting takes a dangerous turn when Raymond pulls out a gun.
Tickets for these two productions are currently available from Théâtre la Nouvelle Scene by phone at (613) 241-2727 or in person at 333 King-Edward Avenue in Ottawa.
