Great news in the world of Quebec theatre: a creation by multidisciplinary artist and Indigenous actress Émilie Monnet will be on view this summer at the Festival d’Avignon, the most prestigious performing arts event in Europe.
It’s his show Marguerite: fire which was retained in the program of Tiago Rodrigues, the director of the Festival d’Avignon. The play was created last year at Espace Go in Montreal, staged by the author and Angélique Wilke. She’s part of a triad, with a podcast series, Marguerite: the crossing, and an ambulatory course, Marguerite: the stone, co-produced with the Center du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui.
Marguerite: fire evokes the forgotten tragedy of Marguerite Duplessis, an Aboriginal slave who lived in Montreal in the middle of the 18e century. This woman was the first slave to fight for her freedom, starting a legal process against the authorities in 1740. She was immediately sent to a plantation in Martinique, where we will lose track of her. Because “the collective memory is short”, confided Émilie Monnet before the creation of her piece.
The author, actress, director and activist of Anishinabe origin, has delved into the slavery past of our ancestors to bring to light the dark hours of colonization and arrangements between heirs in New France.
The show will be presented as part of the “in” program, at the Benoît XII Theater in Avignon, from July 7 to 11, with the cast of the creation: Anna Beaupré Moulounda, Catherine Dagenais-Savard, Émilie Monnet, Tatiana Zinga Botao.
The next Avignon Festival, the 77e edition, will be held from July 5 to 25, 2023.