La Seizième

• Jessie Dumais, Operations Manager
  

The show I’m the most excited about: Nombre

The reason why I’m so excited: I love atypical shows that stand out from a more traditional theatrical experience. This piece has reversed the roles, the way the story is built is just great! To start the season, we invite you to take a seat in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. What could be better than breaking the ice by putting YOU in the spotlight?

How it fits well into the 2021-2022 season theme: I feel particularly inspired by the themes centered on meeting each other, exchanging ideas, and our shared humanity. We want to hear your story and learn more about you. The testimonies that are sometimes touching, sometimes funny, reflect the diversity of our community. It’s very exciting and intriguing for me to know that none of the performances will be the same. It’s up to you, we are counting on your participation in large numbers!

• Cory Haas, Artistic Assistant

The show I’m the most excited about: ZÉRO

The reason why I’m so excited: Mani’s shows are always a big event. He is a terrific actor and an endearing storyteller. He always manages to draw us in on his quest to find out who he is with simplicity and efficiency. His ability to open himself up to audiences, with humour and vulnerability, is not to be missed!

How it fits well into the 2021-2022 season theme: We had already programmed it last year, but the themes which Mani talks about are even more resonant after a year of uncertainty, change, and interrogation. Where do we come from and where are we going are just a few of the questions that Mani asks himself and, in turn, asks the audience. He succeeds in drawing up a fascinating portrait of the stakes we all come up against, especially in Canada, around immigration, identity, and the space that we create for ourselves in our complex landscape.

• Catherine Ballachey, Administrative Director

The show I’m the most excited about: La Détresse et l’Enchantement (Enchantment and Sorrow)

The reason why I’m so excited: As a lover of literature, I’m most excited by the dramatic adaptation of Gabrielle Roy’s posthumously published autobiography. The show is directed by Olivier Kemeid, with a remarkable performance by Marie-Thérèse Fortin as this young francophone woman seeking independence and artistic passion in the decades leading up to the Second World War. The way they adapted her story to the stage is very dynamic and innovational. I wrote about dramatic adaptation in my master’s thesis, and believe me, adapting autobiographies is not an easy thing to do! I’m eager to see the result onstage.

How it fits well into the 2021-2022 season theme: We can’t wait to see you at the theatre again! This season, we’re bringing audiences together, in complete safety, after a year of isolation and disconnection. We’re exploring human connection and the drive for shared experiences. This is exactly what we do in theatre every day and exactly what drove Gabrielle Roy to create her incredible collection of work. As francophones and francophiles living in the West, we might also connect with her struggle to assert herself as a francophone in a minority language setting.  They say that her early novels, especially Bonheur d’occasion (The Tin Flute), set the tone for French language advocacy in the decades that followed. We can certainly appreciate that here at la Seizième, and we hope you will too!

• Caroline Lambert, Communications Manager

The show I’m the most excited about: S’effondrent les vidéoclubs

The reason why I’m so excited: I love quirky universes, with a direct and audacious tone. This play written by André Gélineau, therefore, immediately caught my eye! I am also very curious to see how this work will be staged by the director, Gilles Poulin-Denis, over the next few months. Fortunately, I have the pleasure of showing you the artistic process through our newsletters!

How it fits well into the 2021-2022 season theme: In a world close to ours, on the border of dystopia, we follow four characters in search of meaning. It is by interacting with each other, by exchanging with each other that they evolve and see themselves in a new light. This need to come together in community, to meet and share, are themes at the heart of our new theatrical season. The subjects covered in this daring dramatic comedy will certainly not leave us feeling indifferent!

• Sarah Bouix, Audience Manager

The show I’m the most excited about: Le merveilleux voyage d’Inès de l’Ouest

The reason why I’m so excited: Scheduled for the 2019-2020 season and then canceled only a few days before the premiere due to the pandemic, I am particularly looking forward to seeing this show and being able to present it to schools in the three most western provinces. Not only is the adaptation of Rébecca Déraspe very funny, but in addition, the artistic team and the performers are incredibly creative and talented. This show for young audiences promises to be talked about for years to come!

How it fits well into the 2021-2022 season theme: Thanks to a rite of passage through Western Canada, Inès will discover an unexpected world that will help her open her eyes to her place in the world as a little girl. Her encounters with characters along the way will make her grow, in every sense of the word… Don’t miss the unique family performance on March 26 at Studio 16!

• Alain Grégoire, Interim Artistic and Managing Director

The show that I’m the most excited about: Since I was responsible for programming the current season, I look forward to all the shows! But I am willing to play the game, so I will choose La question du devoir.

The reason why I’m so excited: I had the chance to see the original version, in Belgium, a few years ago. I was immediately taken by this original piece, both by its form, so-called invisible theatre, and by its content, a philosophical dialogue with young people. We hardly remember the many questions of a philosophical nature that we ask our parents and teachers as children, but anyone who has had children remembers the difficulty sometimes experienced in answering basic questions asked by our offspring. When I heard that a company had created a Canadian version, I was immediately intrigued! What a great opportunity to give local students the opportunity to question their beliefs and convictions, and to participate in the debate embedded in the show around the notion of commitment. La question du devoir appeals to the intelligence, curiosity, and sensitivity of young people.

How it fits well into the 2021-2022 season theme: This atypical piece, at the intersection of meaning and emotion, allows for a beautiful and real experience, as well as the active participation of students in person, one class at a time. Thus, the collective reflection offered throughout the show will help to lift the students out of the forced isolation of the past two years. As you will see, theatre can help us to better understand our world.