Sophie, Meilie, and Wai Yin, three Chinese Canadian women, are making a chili sauce. As they chatter and talk about this and that, Sophie shows the film she’s directing: an intersectional adaptation of Jean Genet’s classic, Les Bonnes (1947). The conversation quickly turns to the topic of their cultural heritage, the discussion becomes heated, and the veneer cracks: in this era of Chinese domination, is it still necessary to poison Madame?
Like Genet’s maids, who fantasize about murdering a mistress they seem to idolize, three women from the diaspora probe their feelings of ambivalence toward the West, somewhere between fascination and rejection. In an ingenious mise en abyme, Bonnes Bonnes juxtaposes complex issues of identity, class struggle, and racism – both the racism one endures and the racism one internalizes – asking the question: is revenge the only path to healing the wounds of the past?
Text Sophie Gee, Tamara Nguyen
Direction Sophie Gee
Performance Sophie Gee, Wai Yin Kwok, Meilie Ng; Charo Foo Tai Wei (video), France Rolland (voice French version), Holly Gauthier-Frankel (voice English version)
Costumes Jessica Poirier-Chang
Set and props Maryanna Chan
Sound design Christine ML Lee
Lighting design Nine Desbaillet
Projection and video design Amelia Scott
Sound recording (video) Elena Stoodley
Dramaturgy Sasha Dion via the Centre des auteurs dramatiques
Artistic advisor Nini Bélanger
Costume assistants Margarita Brodie, Claudelle Dextraze
Costume building Maéva Bouchard from Atelier-M-Costume, Vita Nikitenko, Jez Yung
Artistic and cultural advisors for the first creation phase Claudia Chan Tak, Angie Cheng, Winnie Ho
Lighting design for the first creation phase Maya Jarvis
Dramaturgy advisor for the first creation phase Marilou Craft
Stage management Chad Demski
Technical direction Aurora Torok
With the support of Cole Foundation, Canada Council for the arts, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Conseil des arts de Montréal, Wuchien Michael Than Foundation and Festival TransAmériques Respirations
Presentation at Théâtre Aux Écuries, April 2023, tour of the Maisons de la culture in and around Montreal in 2024-2025
The English translation was developed with the support of the Glassco translation residency in Tadoussac, organized by Playwrights Workshop Montreal.
Pedagogical guide developed for the presentation of Bonnes Bonnes during the 2022–2023 season at Théâtre Aux Écuries. All educational activities, thematic sections, and suggestion boxes were created by the Montreal-based theatre company La Marquise.
