Now | The American (and Mexican) dream of Catherine-Anne Toupin

On display this fall in Chicago, his play Now will also be adapted for cinema in Mexico in 2024.

Catherine-Anne Topin attended a performance of Right Now. An American production of his play Now, by the Facility Theater in Chicago, which has been playing to sold-out audiences for six weeks. “The United States is such a difficult market to break into… It’s fun to experience that,” confided the actress and author, joined by The Press in the Windy City, where she stays with her partner, the actor Antoine Bertrand.

The American company has added extras as well as an evening for the industry, next Monday, a spring break, to invite actors, artistic directors and producers to see the show. And perhaps give a second life to the production, after Chicago.

“The Chicago theater scene is very vibrant,” explains Toupin. It’s the city of Tracey Letts and the Steppenwolf Theater, of David Mamet, of Gary Sinise… It’s a springboard for creative theater. And my play is doing well enough that Facility Theater wants to take the show elsewhere in the United States. »

Good welcome

Indeed, the show received a glowing press review, with an average of four stars given by local critics. “The characters created by the ensemble are of exquisite beauty and the script by Catherine-Anne Toupin is very rigorous […] Right Nowbeautifully crafted, is the kind of disconcerting theater that makes Chicago the city richest in mind-disturbing dramas,” illustrates the Chicago Stage and Screen.

“ Right Now, by Canadian playwright Catherine-Anne Toupin (translated by Chris Campbell), has several strong points: lively dialogue, fascinating characters, genuine humor and a surreal plot,” summarized the Chicago On Stage.

A film in Mexico!

Barely arriving in the Illinois metropolis, Catherine-Anne Toupin received confirmation thatNow will also be adapted in cinemas in Mexico, under the Spanish title of Febril. After successfully staging it at the theater in Mexico City in 2014 and 2015, actor and director Hugo Arrevillaga decided to adapt the play for the cinema and received funding for filming in 2024.

Interestingly, Hugo Arrevillaga knows Quebec theater. He has already staged texts by Wajdi Mouawad, Daniel Danis and Evelyne de la Chenelière in Mexico.

“I am not involved in the project [du film], but I read the script which was translated into English for me. It’s excellent ! A free and daring adaptation of my play. Let’s say it’s incredible to know that a team of Mexican artists has been working on my text for years and that it will soon become a film,” says Catherine-Anne Toupin.

“The Mexican team has been working on the project for six years and, after delays caused by the pandemic, the film will finally be made in the fall of 2024. Actress Mayra Batalla [bien connue au Mexique] plays the main role,” she continues.

Thriller and humor

Created at La Licorne by the Théâtre de la Manufacture in 2008, taken over by Duceppe in 2010, Now already had a successful international career. Translated into five languages, the play has also been produced in Italy, Belgium, Mexico, Australia and England. “The international success ofNow is largely due to the Center for Dramatic Authors (CEAD) which organized a translation seminar 18 years ago,” explains the author.

Now is a disturbing modern tale that explores the darkest corners of the human psyche. According to Catherine-Anne Toupin, the play appeals abroad thanks to its mixture of humor and strangeness, its absurd thriller side. “It’s a gift every time I learn thatNow is produced elsewhere,” she says.

The international career of his second play exceeds his wildest dreams. “This is all incredible… I’m still pinching myself. But it also shows that Quebec culture shines abroad. I am not the only one. There is a lot of talent in Quebec,” concludes the actress from Boomrang and author of The pack.