THE 13TH PHENOMENA FESTIVAL Returns In October

13th Phénomena Festival will return with a lineup of bold, inclusive and diverse programming, October 2 to 25, 2024.

Created in 2012 by D. Kimm and Les Filles électriques, Phénomena is an interdisciplinary festival that provides a platform for unclassifiable and atypical artists.  With 17 shows and over a hundred artists, Phénomena 2024 will be a celebration of beauty, poetry, extravagance and humor.

For our visuals, we've taken on the macho myth of James Bond and twisted its meaning Phénomena-style, all with the help of two icons of the festival and interdisciplinarity: Stéphane Crête and Jacqueline van de Geer, who have lent themselves to the game with grace and elegance. 

And to kick off the festivities, join us for the Phenomenal Parade on September 29. Gathering is at 1pm and departure at 2pm. The public is invited to unleash their imaginations and make a costume based on one of the Parade's themes, with the help of our wonderful magician Patsy Van Roost. It's a chance for all of us to come together to parade down Saint-Laurent Boulevard and create Beauty and Joy together.

These are gloomy times, but there's no question of sinking into resentment. Phénomena is a platform for strong, original artistic voices. There will be performance and dance shows, film screenings and several of the festival's trademark wacky cabarets.

Cabaret DADA has been part of the festival's DNA since its inception. We've given you a run for your money with our Cabarets DADA, and this year we've outdone ourselves with TWO Cabarets DADA. To host them, we've called on our DADA Super Stars Stéphane Crête (for the French cabaret) and Alexis O'Hara (for the English cabaret). We challenged each to “transgress” the other's cabaret. Ah! Ah! Watch out! You'll be able to see the famous Growlers Choir (imagine a real choir of heavy metal singers), iconoclastic circus performer David Menes Rodriguez, queer performers Peaches LePoz and Crystal Slippers, daring Phoenix Inana, diva Jacqueline van de Geer and many more.

We asked Fanfare Pourpour to give us a real evening of dance. As we all know, every time the fanfare performs, we get the irresistible urge to dance, and start pushing chairs in all directions. This time we're taking it on the chin, and La Sala Rossa will be transformed into a real dance hall (as it once was).

Dance is in the spotlight this year with several shows. Back by popular demand, we're presenting another evening of Waacking orchestrated by the fabulous Axelle “Ebony” Munezero. Waacking is an energetic dance form that originated in the Los Angeles queer community in the 1970s as a means of freely expressing identity and empowerment. Today, the Waacking community perpetuates this heritage while evolving with the challenges of its generation. The AstroQueer Cabaret, organized by young dancer and choreographer Mathieu Hérard, takes us on a humorous journey into horoscopes and cosmic adventure, while the new creation She and the other(s) by Les Sœurs Schmutt, presented at La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines and featuring charismatic dancer Chi Long, looks at Quebec identity in the face of major migratory issues.

Poetry will also be in the spotlight this year at Phénomena. The evening will feature the charismatic native poet and performer Malorie Yawenda Picard and her band for the show, followed by a performance by the collective – os -. Gathered around Jocelyn Pelletier, the collective - os - proposes a performance that blends theater, noisy music, performed poetry, rap and live video art.

D. Kimm, director of Phénomena, returns to the Sala Rossa stage for a performance poetry show accompanied by a fiery house band under the direction of her long-time accomplice Bernard Falaise. She will revisit old texts with humor and emotion. As this will probably be her last show, D. Kimm wanted to treat herself and invited two authors she admires, Emmanuelle Pierrot and Natasha Kanapé Fontaine, to perform their texts.

The 3rd Cabaret féministe pas gentil du tout is likely to sell out again this year. Hosted by the very delinquent Chantal Lamarre, it will feature a dozen outspoken feminist artists and personalities, including Catherine Ethier, Martine Delvaux, Alix Dufresne, Micheline Lanctôt and Brigitte Haentjens. Sensitive ears, sensitive people, acerbic phallocrats, frustrated misogynists, this is probably NOT the night for you!

Claudia Chan Tak is back with ABBA Cabaret without ABBA, featuring a dozen emerging artists from diverse backgrounds in dance and theater. Phénomena is also delighted to present at Studio 303 a breakdance battle led by Lazylegz, featuring an atypical team of artists trained at Les Muses, a professional training school in the performing arts dedicated to artists with disabilities. Also at Studio 303, you'll be able to attend a reading of a play in progress by Aboriginal actress and author Sharon Fontaine-Ishpatao.

In the charming and intimate Sotterenea (in the basement of La Sala Rossa), enjoy Rassembler ce qui est dispersé, a lecture-performance by Stéphane Crête, and Hui, heur, nuit, a poetic and visual performance by Gabo Champagne and Guillaume Vallée.

Finally, the festival continues its commitment to the deaf community by presenting Perspectives Sourdes: on tourne! at the Cinémathèque québécoise, two evenings of screenings of films made entirely by deaf directors. Also free of charge at the Maison de la culture du Plateau-Mont-Royal is the deaf clown show LUMINA, orchestrated by Marie-Pierre Petit, a rare deaf clown and loyal collaborator of Phénomena.

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