MEDIA / PRESS

 

Media Contact

Louise Naubert

416.947.7909

>> theatrelatangente@gmail.com

 

Téléchargez / Download Card
Conception: Mikaël Lavogiez

Press Reviews

« This show is imbued with great intelligence, great emotion and great ambition. [...] For us, who are outside Quebec, this is the kind of theater we have to demand.»
Kevin Sweet, ICI Radio-Canada / Le Téléjournal Ontario, November 19 2017 - Read the review

« the actors are all impeccable in creating their characters. The play is also immaculately directed by Guilmain and Louise Naubert. [...] While it is yet incomplete, what Guilmain has constructed so far points to its becoming a major work of Canadian drama. [...] After seeing the first two parts so expertly written, stage and performed, one can hardly wait for part three.»
Christopher Hoile, Stage Door, Novembrer 17 2017 - Read the review

« La pièce americandream.ca ouvre le festival, un road trip de trois heures, constitué de Malaises et de Pax Americana, créé par le Théâtre de la Tangente. Cette oeuvre porte en elle tous les autres spectacles, fait valoir M. Cormier. Elle les éclaire par les thèmes qui y sont abordés... »
Isabelle Brisebois, Le Droit - La Presse, June 10th 2015 - Read the review

« Zones Théâtrales nous amène dans un « roadtrip ». »
Daniel Mathieu, Les voies du retour - Radio-Canada, June 9th 2015 - Listen to the interview

« De fait, il existe des liens étroits entre eux ; même s’ils [les personnages] n’interagissent pas sur scène, ils créent une parole symphonique qui exprime leur intériorité. Ce qui paraissait alors statique se révèle une série de courants et de mouvements qui créent un déferlement vertigineux. »
Paul Savoie, Liaison N°161, September 25th 2013 - Read the review

« Premier chapitre d’une trilogie, AmericanDream.ca a donc su relever tous les défis liés aux aléas de la création. Dans notre cage, on attend désormais qu’à être de nouveau secoué. »
Nicolas Dot, L'Express, June 25th 2013 - Read the review

« ... une comédie de mœurs de Claude Guilmain, codirigée par Louise Naubert, et c’est un premier tome. Il y en aura trois. Les deux suivants sont attendus avec impatience. »
Raphaël Lopoukhine, Le Métropolitain, June 26th 2013 - Read the review

« All of Mr. Guilmain’s characters have the fatal flaw of still being alive in a world that is dead of emotions, dead of human connections, dead from the world, and dead from each other. »
Shannon Christy, The Charlesbois Post, June 19th 2013 - Read the review

« Le créateur Torontois Claude Guilmain du Théâtre la Tangeante présente sa nouvelle création Americandream la semaine prochaine. Il s'agit de la première partie d'une trilogie. »
Éric Robitaille, Grands Lacs café / Radio-Canada, June 15th 2013 - Listen to the interview

« Il désacralise totalement la notion de rêve américain et estime même que ce mythe nous rend tous vulnérables, ultra-dépendants et aveugles devant la réalité des choses. »
Nicolas Dot, L'Express, June 11th 2013 - Read the review

Bold original new work by Claude Guilmain

From the company that produced the spectacular multi-media production L’Implorante, Théâtre La Tangente returns with Americandream.ca. Original and audacious, this bilingual work by Claude Guilmain and Louise Naubert, first part of a trilogy, will feature choreographed movement and video projections. Presented at Theatre Glendon from June 3 to 7, 2014, the show will be offered with English audio translation.

We are led to believe that anything is possible and if faith is not enough, happiness, like everything else, is a commodity that can be bought. But the American dream is a mirage and in the case of the Cardinal family, disappointment is a heritage that has been passed on from generation to generation. This project was inspired by the parable of the talents (Matthew XXV, 14-30) that could very well be interpreted by some as a seed for capitalism.

Americandream.ca is the story of three siblings, Alain, Maude and Claude Cardinal, three baby-boomers who have gathered to celebrate Alain’s 50th birthday along with his wife Pat, and Maude’s two adult children, Brigitte and Émilie, six characters, each living a personal tragedy that only the spectators will be privy to. After too many years of keeping up appearances, will the masks fall away under the pressure?

The background of this story takes us to New York city in the late 1930’s where the protagonists’ grand father, Joseph Cardinal, has brought his wife and son from a small town in Québec in search of a brighter future. Joseph is a gambler and it doesn’t take long for him to accumulate debts.  And one day in 1942, he simply disappears forcing his wife and son to return to Québec. Alain, Maude and Claude will have never known “the shame” of the family, as their grandfather was referred to in hushed tones while they were growing up. No one is really certain of when, where or even if he has died.

The eventual discovery of their grand father’s fate will have a very different effect on the paths Alain, Maude and Claude’s lives will take.

 

Conception

Co-directed by Claude Guilmain and Louise Naubert. Featuring Geviève Dufour, Bernard Meney, Louise Naubert, Pier Paquette, Anne-Sophie Quemener and Gisèle Rousseau.

 

Distribution

Set designer: Claude Guilmain; Lighting Designer: Guillaume Houët; Visual effects, Co-set designer, Technical director: Duncan Appleton; Soundscape and original music: Claude Naubert; Choreography: Sylvie Bouchard; Photography and Stage management: Aurélien Muller; Photographer and Webmaster: Mikaël Lavogiez.

 

Upcoming Dates

April 24 to 27, 2019
National Arts Centre French Theatre, Ottawa

>> Buy Tickets Now

 

 

The company : Théâtre La Tangente

Le Théâtre la Tangente produces hybrid original works combining theatre, music, dance and video. Entertaining and thought provoking, the company’s artistic projects are articulated in the constant evolution of its founding members who, engaged in writing, set design, music, lighting design, directing and acting, feed a complicity born from the exchange of ideas, the sensitivity and the interdependence of their respective disciplines to create original works. Each new work provokes the re-examination of the artistic process of artisans coming from different backgrounds. Le Théâtre la Tangente’s founding members, Claude Guilmain and Louise Naubert are multidisciplinary and versatile artists.

Le Théâtre la Tangente was founded out of the need to explore and create original works in French and to counter Toronto’s artistic francophone community’s isolation by building bridges with francophone and francophile communities . A new work is produced in Toronto every two years and toured the following year. The public is always invited to witness the development of a new work by attending readings and workshops followed by discussions with the artists. Productions are now either surtitled in English or presented with English audio.

>> www.theatrelatangente.com

 

AN ORIGINAL WORK

by Claude Guilmain