Montreal representations of Seven branches of the Ōta River, by Robert LePage, will not take place.
Posted at 7:14 p.m.
The decision was taken Tuesday evening by the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde and the company Ex-Machina, by Robert Lepage.
Last Thursday, a fire damaged the back of the building, which the management undertook to enlarge. The landing stage leading to the new hall under construction caught fire after welding sparks came into contact with the mineral wool.
“After a thorough inspection of the premises and because of the complex operations required to clean the hall and the technical equipment, it is with immense disappointment that the management of the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, Ex-Machina and Robert Lepage see themselves forced to cancel all of the performances scheduled for Montreal today,” wrote the management of the TNM in a press release.
General and artistic director Lorraine Pintal had initially canceled the first three performances (from last weekend) and said she was confident that the theater could reopen on Friday August 26, since the fire had not spread and the interior of the theater had not been touched. She had, however, indicated that cleaning crews were at work and suggested that some equipment may have been damaged by the smoke.
The 7-hour river show will be presented as planned from September 17 to 25 at the Diamant de Québec, as well as at the Center culturel de Sherbrooke on October 2. The TNM says it is exploring “the options” in order to allow “the meeting between the Montreal public and this show-event”.