This text is part of the special notebook It’s Summer
Theater, humor and the performing arts will give rise to unifying events across the four corners of Quebec during the summer season. Numerous opportunities to entertain young and old, outdoors or in air conditioning.
Humour
In Montreal, French comedian Laura Calu takes to a Canadian stage for the first time at the National for her show Senk, June 14 and 15. She first became known on social networks by parodying beauty tutorials. During her visit to Quebec, she plans to be ironic about what she considers to be the inconsistencies of her time, but also about her own paradoxes.
Laurie Peret, also from France, will present her show See you soon somewhere at the Just for Laughs festival. The one who, in life, is known as an overwhelmed mother, now slips into the shoes of a lonely forty-year-old whose daily life is “a series of entertaining catastrophes for which she is solely responsible”. A show where humor mixes with music, the artist performing his own crazy compositions behind his piano. July 18 and 19 at Gesù.
As for the Bordel Comédie club, the evenings welcoming five personalities whose identity is revealed the same day continue in May and June. The room located on Ontario Street will also host Louis T, Maxim Martin, José Gaudet and Martin Petit.
Comedian Jay Du Temple began cycling across Canada on May 4 as part of his tour to raise funds for mental health research. He will be back on May 24 and 25 at the Cabaret des pas perdus in the Îles-de-la-Madeleine before heading back to Western Canada. He will return to the Quebec stages on July 16 in Gatineau and July 19 at the Maisonneuve theater at Place des Arts.
In Quebec, the Albert-Rousseau room will host a summer program rich in humor, including Delicate by Fabien Cloutier. The actor and author skillfully handles the language of Molière while remaining raw and true to himself in his fourth solo show. The one who is best known for his TV series Leo and his character in Les beaux malaises will stop in the national capital as part of his Quebec tour on May 31 and 1er June.
Theater
Until May 30, Montrealers can go to Espace Go to discover Nigamon/Tunai, by Émilie Monnet and Waira Nina, who wrote the text and the direction. In Anishinabe and Inga Colombian indigenous languagenigamon And tuna mean “the song”, intended to be a poetic ode to their complicity cultivated over 12 years between First Nations of the North and the South. This work, which mixes immersive performance and audio documentary, addresses not only the theme of friendship, but also that of the protection of territories. On stage, French, English, Spanish, Anishinabe and Inga coexist, like the peoples on the planet.
A sign that, even during the warm season, we can immerse ourselves in the holiday spirit, the classic French film Santa Clause is garbage was transposed to the theater. The play stars Jean-Michel Anctil, Josée Deschênes, Mario Jean, Brigitte Lafleur, Pierre-François Legendre and Claude Prégent, in a production by André Robitaille. We all know the comical story: two volunteers from SOS Détresse Amitié, Pierre and Thérèse, receive a visit from people, each one stranger than the other on Christmas Eve. The play is presented from July 6 to 28 at the Salle Albert-Rousseau in Quebec, before going to the Salle Odyssée in Gatineau from August 3 to 11, to end the summer at the Manuvie theater in Brossard, from August 23 to 31 .
In Quebec, the Albert-Rousseau room will host for one evening only Manikanetish, with a cast of indigenous artists. Taken from the book of the same name written by Naomi Fontaine, who also stars in the play, the show delves into the story of Yammie, who returns to live in the Innu community of Uashat after leaving it during her early childhood. While teaching French at the Manikanetish school, she met several students who were aiming to build a future for themselves.
Another classic, this time at the Maison des arts Desjardins in Drummondville: Call me Stéphane by Claude Meunier and Louis Saia. Patrice Bélanger, Véronic DiCaire, Diane Lavallée, Dominic Paquet and Tammy Verge slip into the shoes of apprentice actors in evening classes. Everything becomes complicated when their teacher Stéphane, played by Bernard Fortin, challenges them to create a play. The work is also directed by André Robitaille and performed from June 28 to August 17.
The prohibition period is embodied in Lili St-Cyr, a musical piece that comes to life in Montreal, a metropolis spared by prohibitions. We find the eponymous character played by Marie-Pier Labrecque on the stage of the Gayety theater, in a musical show putting women in the spotlight. Also among the cast are former Star Académie finalist Lunou Zucchini, Maxime Denommée, Stéphane Brulotte, Kathleen Fortin and Roger La Rue. To be seen from June 12 to 22 at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde in Montreal, then at Théâtre C in Saguenay (July 25).
Youth shows
What’s going on in the mind of a toddler who hasn’t yet said his first word? It is on this question that we focus Roots at the Maison Théâtre, a play intended for little ones aged two to five, presented from June 5 to 16. The spectators are guided by video tapes to lead them to the performer Zoé Delsalle, who plays both the child and the adult while trying to recreate the first fusional moments of her existence. The text and direction are by Elie Marchand in a first co-production by the Montreal company Petits bonheurs with the French theater company La Minoterie.
In Quebec, On two wheels, life! by DynamO Théâtre explores the theme of memories in an acrobatic movement piece. The synopsis is as follows: after being absent for a long time, a man returns to his parents’ house in order to reconnect with his identity and his memories. There, inanimate objects, including an old bicycle, come to life. The protagonist played by Guillaume Doin will therefore begin a cycling journey into his past in order to better move forward towards the future. A show aimed at young people aged 6 to 10 at the Les Gros Becs youth theater, located in the Fleur de lys shopping center, from June 7 to 20.
The cultural event dedicated to youth Mon Festival returns for a 30e edition from July 5 to 7 in Repentigny. The festivities will take place at Île-Lebel Park with 14 shows, entertainment and free activities for children aged 2 to 12. More than 50 performances are planned over the weekend with disciplines ranging from music to theater to circus arts. The detailed program will be revealed on June 10.
At the Théâtre de la dame de coeur in Upton, in Montérégie, the play Victor and the Gift of Dreams will bring together young and old in the open air, from Wednesday to Sunday between July 3 and August 24. The performances will take place in good or bad weather under a room protected by a roof. On swivel seats equipped with heated straps, the public is invited to follow the adventures of Victor, who meets in a dream a hamster wanting to help him take charge of his life. The young person whose birthday it is can also count on his magician grandmother, to counter the sometimes bad advice of his new friend. At the Théâtre de la dame de coeur, visitors are encouraged to explore the interpretation center and stroll on the nature trails. For sustenance, a buffet is offered at the Le Vieux Moulin restaurant and the site also offers picnic tables.
Puppets await children aged 5 and over in Laval in Plastic at the House of Arts. The Puzzle Théâtre production features a world where creatures are designed in plastic bags with characteristics that resemble us. A comedy show, May 26 at 2 p.m.
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