Tickets for The crossing of the century, an adaptation of Michel Tremblay’s work directed by Alice Ronfard, took off in record time on Friday. Five of the seven Montreal theaters that will present the play in the coming year sold out within hours, even minutes for some, after their box office opened.
“It’s incredible, it’s extraordinary! I expected a craze, but not that the tickets would sell out so quickly, ”rejoiced Alice Ronfard Friday afternoon, learning the news by The duty.
The Espace Libre, La Licorne, and Quat’Sous theaters, which each have between 150 and 180 seats, confirmed that they had sold all their tickets – at the price of 90 dollars – in less than ten minutes.
“We launched the sale at 9:35 a.m. and it took exactly 7 minutes to sell everything,” says Félix-Antoine Boutin, co-director general and artistic director of Espace libre. It was in his theater that the text had been the subject of a first reading-event, on August 27th. “I attended it and it was really quite an experience. As they left, everyone was overflowing with enthusiasm. So I kind of expected this success, but I didn’t think it would be so fast,” he says.
“We hadn’t seen that for a very long time”
At the Center du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, it was possible from March 20 to register on a waiting list to get your place when the ticket office officially opens on Friday noon. “In all, we had 250 tickets available, but more than 600 people registered on the waiting list. There were even people waiting in line in front of the theater this morning, we hadn’t seen that for a very long time, ”says Étienne Langlois, co-director general and administrative director of the establishment.
Even the Duceppe theatre, which has almost 750 seats, filled up at breakneck speed. In less than four hours, the establishment had sold all its general public tickets. In the middle of the afternoon, there were only a handful of tickets still available among the 120 reserved for subscribers.
At the TNM, where the sale was entirely reserved for subscribers on Friday, there were also only a few places left on the balcony in the middle of the afternoon. The theater plans to sell the remaining seats — if any — to the general public on May 11.
However, there is still a little hope to get your hands on the grail. The Green Curtain will open its box office for the play only Monday noon, when it officially launches its programming for the season. But again, places will be reserved in priority to subscribers. The remaining tickets will be sold to the general public on the 1er august.
“I think the podcast gave a taste and made a lot of people want to see the play on stage, in real life,” says Alice Ronfard to explain this enthusiasm.
Félix-Antoine Boutin, of Espace libre, also sees in it the expression of an attachment to the work of Michel Tremblay and a desire of the spectators to gather again after the pandemic period. “After so many months of closure, in the industry, we wondered a lot if our audience still existed. I think that answers the question. It’s exciting and encouraging for the future. »
Outstanding collaboration
Last month, the seven Montreal theaters announced this special, and very rare, collaboration to present The crossing of the century. Each will offer a single and unique performance of the show during the year 2023-2024. The tour begins at the Center du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui on August 26, 2023. The play will then be on September 2 at Espace libre, April 20, 2024 at La Licorne, May 25, 2024 at Quat’Sous, June 8 2024 at the Rideau Vert, on June 15, 2024 at Duceppe and finally on June 29, 2024 at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde.
The play is a summary of the abundant work of the famous Michel Tremblay, which spans almost six decades, more than 30 novels and as many plays. Alice Ronfard’s adaptation focuses on the life and destiny of three women, Victoire, Albertine and Thérèse, key characters in Tremblay’s work. There are themes dear to the latter, such as the place of women, the desire for emancipation, homosexuality, interbreeding or even gender transcendence.
The 12-hour show will bring together more than twenty artists on stage, including Emmanuel Schwartz, Céline Bonnier, Violette Chauveau, Dany Boudreault, Rachel Graton and Marie-Hélène Thibault.