February 27 and 28, 7 p.m. at Salle Jean-Despréz
Maison du citoyen (25, Laurier St, Gatineau)

Presented in French with no surtitles

 

 The desire for poetry always springs from danger and passion,
from a state of personal or collective tension.

Nicole Brossard

 

February 11, 2020 – OTTAWA – How do you construct a story—maybe even a reality? A hybrid of presentation, theatre and film, Le désert mauve tackles Nicole Brossard’s genre-defying novel of the same name. Within the blinding void, the thoughts of a teenager on the run generate a series of images that accumulate like so many distressing mirages.

Fifteen-year-old Mélanie is driving through the Arizona desert, circling the motel where she lives with her mother. Thirsty for the absolute, beset by existential questions, the young woman is desperate to escape boredom and discover who she is in a world gradually losing its humanity.

Nicole Brossard writes about adolescence in all its defiance and intensity, and has published some 40 titles since 1965. An award-winning poet, she periodically returns to the novel form to gauge its relationship to the real. The stage direction and visual elements of this adaptation of her iconic novel are the result of an artistic encounter between the author and Simon Dumas of Rhizome, which produces multidisciplinary projects based on literary works.

As they talk about creative issues and unfold the story of Le désert mauve, images pile up on the walls and furniture of what looks like a motel room. Within the theatre space, new layers of fiction are taking shape.

 

Written and performed by : Nicole Brossard et Simon Dumas // Director : Simon Dumas // Video appearances : Nicole Brossard, Evelyne de la Chenelière, Simon Drouin, Valérie Laroche, Todd Picard, Judith Rompré et Arielle Warnke St-Pierre // Voices : Lise Castonguay, Marie Gignac et Mélissa Merlo // Assistant directors : Geneviève Allard, Anne-Marie Desmeules, Lola Tillard // Sets, costumes, props, production design: Julie Lévesque // lighting : Renaud Pettigrew // Sound design : Chantal Dumas // Technical design and additional sound: Marc Doucet // Images, video, editing and projections : Marco Dubé // Tour coordinator : Annick Beaulieu // Touring assistant: Olivier A. Dubois

Produced by : Rhizome

Presented by : NAC French Theatre and Salon du livre de l’Outaouais

Running time: approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes with no intermission

 

BEFORE THE SHOW

Dive into Le désert mauve’s universe by navigating an interactive map.

Through pictures, letters and quotes from the original novel, discover the motel lost in the Arizona desert as imagined by Nicole Brossard as well as the thoughts exchanged between the two creators during the creative process. 

 

ENRICH YOUR THEATRE EXPERIENCE

Nicole Brossard and Simon Dumas will be attending the Salon du livre de l’Outaouais to discuss the stage adaptation of Brossard’s novel. Join us for the discussion Le désert mauve: de la page à la scène, on February 28th at 4 :30 p.m. on the Jacques Poirier stage.

 

PLAN YOUR VISIT

Le désert mauve is presented at the Salle Jean-Despréz, 25 Laurier St, Gatineau.

 

TICKETS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS

 

Tickets for $22 with the purchase of the Salon du Livre de l’Outaouais wristband passes

General admission $35 / Students $17,50

 

Online : https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/21659