Photo Flash: Theatre Francais De Toronto Presents THE BALD SOPRANO

To kick off its new season, Théâtre français de Toronto (TfT) is offering Ionesco's seditious and absurd comedy, The Bald Soprano. Directed my two-time Dora Award winning director Chanda Gibson, the production will be presented at the Berkeley Street Theatre from October 23 to November 3, 2019, in French, with surtitles in English.

The clock strikes seventeen. In a middle-class house in London, Mr. and Mrs. Smith have finished their supper. By the fireside, they chat about the benefits of yogurt for digestion and a family in which everyone is named Bobby Watson. Mr. and Mrs. Martin then arrive and are surprised to discover that they are man and wife. Suddenly, a firefighter appears in search of a blaze to extinguish.

In this work characteristic of the theatre of the absurd, the famous Franco-Romanian author Eugène Ionesco takes pleasure in denouncing the superficiality and conformism of a depraved bourgeoisie by emphasizing the banalities which consume their daily life. He crafts a world in which communication is everything but says nothing ... a reality not so different from our own.

"When designing the 2019-2020 season as a manifesto ('Êtres manifestes' I wanted to offer a series of perspectives on the place of the citizen in the theatre, in society and how the two meet, merge, and dialogue with each other," says Joël Beddows, TfT's Artistic Director. "This comedy allows us to do all this with delight and laughter. It's an opportunity to take a fresh look at our growing inability to communicate, despite the multiplying channels available today."

"Today, Ionesco's comedy makes us think about the climate crisis, the oil industry, capitalism, terrorism and wars, and helps us to understand the extent to which conformism is always devastating for people, for society, for culture," adds Chanda Gibson, the Toronto-based Franco-Ontarian director (two-time winner of the Dora Mavor Moore Award) who will be directing this great classic of the theatre of the absurd.

With: Sébastien Bertrand, Sophie Goulet, Geneviève Langlois, Pierre Simpson, Christina Tannous and Manuel Verreydt.

Set Design: Alexandra Lord; Costume Design: Yvan Castonguay; Sound: Ben Gibson; Stage Management: Gabriel Dubé.

Box Office: 416.534.6604 or theatrefrancais.com

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