Maurice Dancause, a brilliant and hardworking economist, wakes up one morning and collapses. A stroke. He spends nine days in a coma, then four years in rehabilitation. This changes everything: his brain, his tastes, his sensibilities, even his personality. And then, there’s the aphasia, his daily struggle to find words. But however limited his access to speech, his thirst to communicate with the world remains powerful.
Fascinated by his story of reconstruction and resilience, playwright and actress Anne-Marie Olivier slips into the shoes of a man with an incandescent mind and an abundance of words. Every night, he will need an audience member to help him see his story through. Inspired by a remarkable life story, Maurice is a moving dramaturgical experiment that reinvents language to make it its own.
Production Théâtre Bienvenue aux Dames! (Quebec)
Text and Performance Anne-Marie Olivier, based on interviews with Maurice Dancause
Performance Michèle Motard
Direction Olivier Arteau
Set and costumes design Erica Schmitz
Lighting Lucie Bazzo
Makeup Élène Pearson
Artistic Advice Julie Marie Bourgeois, Sarah Villeneuve-Desjardins
Production Management Anne Baillard, Charlotte Ménard
Technical Direction Éric Le Brec'h
This show includes a few improvised scenes which cannot be surtitled for technical reasons.
