UNITE MODELE, CREME-GLACEE and More Set for Theatre la Seizieme's 2017-18 Season

Théâtre la Seizième will present its 2017-2018 programming of two local and four visiting productions.

Théâtre la Seizième wants to reach all culture lovers, but also to surprise its audience with new faces and new forms of stage performance. This season's plays have been specifically selected for the light they shed on some of today's many challenges (immigration, superficiality and appearance, birth rate and environmental protection, individualism and unity of the family, and the cult of performance).

«We are living in an age marked by profound changes and it is good, sometimes, to sit together and take stock of what is taking place around us. This is precisely what this season's plays are offering, intelligently and with creativity.» stressed Esther Duquette, Artistic and Managing Director.

As well, additional representations with English surtitles will allow more non-French speaking culture lovers to join us and enjoy our productions.

---

MAINSTAGE SEASON:

UNITÉ MODÈLE

OCT. 17-28, 2017 | Studio 16

English surtitles on Tue, Wed, Thu and Sat.

Produced by Théâtre la Seizième

Written by Guillaume Corbeil

Directed by Philippe Cyr

With Vincent Leblanc-Beaudoin, Emilie Leclerc

Production team Cande Andrade, Malcom Dow, Itai Erdal,

Ashley Noyes, Manon Veldhuis

Surtitle translation Anita Rochon

With the participation of Finn Lefebvre-Gnam

Welcome to our model unit! We promise you an exceptional evening, the kind of evening that could change the course of your life. It's a unique opportunity: this is your chance, to become the owner of a magnificent condo in the ambitious Diorama building project. Our two representatives will be your hosts for the evening and will devote all their energy to reveal to you the dream lifestyle that could be yours.

Combining interior finish and love story, Unité Modèle (Showroom) takes an objective and unsettling look at gentrification and our relationship with "image" through a game of mirrors that constantly alters reality.

BIBISH DE KINSHASA

NOV. 28 - DEC. 2, 2017 | Studio 16

English surtitles on Tue, Wed, Thu and Sat.

Produced by Hôtel-Motel

Written by Marie-Louise Bibish Mumbu

Directed by Philippe Ducros

With Gisèle Kayembe, accompanied by Marie-Louise

Bibish Mumbu, Philippe Ducros, Papy Maurice Mbwiti

Production team Manon Claveau, Thomas Godefroid, Caroline Turcot, Julie Vallée-Léger

A journalist leaves her native Congo looking for a more promising future. In mid-flight, she is overwhelmed with doubt. Has she done the right thing? The emigrant then remembers what she leaves behind, taking us with her through the busy, vibrant, colourful streets of Kinshasa. This guided tour of the woman's memories is interwoven with casual conversations between the author and the stage director who are cooking on stage, preparing a Congolese dish that will be shared.

Part storytelling evening, part talk show and part informal meal among friends, the play, in a festive atmosphere, evokes the cultural, political and philosophical frictions that taint the relationships between the Western world and Africa.

POURQUOI TU PLEURES...?

FEV. 16-17, 2018 | Waterfront Theatre

English surtitles on Tue, Wed, Thu and Sat.

Produced by Les Éternels Pigistes

Written by Christian Bégin

Directed by Marie Charlebois

With Christian Bégin, Marie Charlebois, Sophie Clément, Pierre Curzi, Pier Paquette, Isabelle Vincent

Production team Chantal Bachand, Angelo Barsetti, Philippe Brault, Clélia Brissaud, Elen Ewing, Max-Otto Fauteux, Martin Labrecque, Alexandra Sutto

The death of an overbearing father, an inheritance worth more than five million dollars to be distributed "according to individual need", and suddenly the value system of a mother and her four children is seriously put to the test. What qualifies as a "need"? An ambition, a compensation, a dream... As past and present interweave, family secrets emerge.

With its sardonic humour, the hilarious comedy Pourquoi tu pleures...? marks the return to Vancouver of Christian Bégin and the company Les Éternels Pigistes. With a cast of actors at the height of their artistic powers, this production-premiered in 2016 by the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde-confronts us with the individualism of our societies.

DES ARBRES

MAY 8-12, 2018 | Studio 16

English surtitles on Tue, Wed, Thu and Sat.

Produced by La Manufacture

Written by Duncan Macmillan

Translated by Benjamin Pradet

Directed by Benoît Vermeulen

With Maxime Denommée, Eveline Gélinas

Production team Guido Del Fabbro, Ariane Lamarre, Jean-Denis Leduc, André Rioux

They are walking through an IKEA store when he brings up the idea of having a child. Caught off guard, she is distraught. They leave the store, their hands empty but their heads filled with questions. Is it such a good idea to bring a child into the world in this age of uncertainties? Is what might be a good choice for them a good choice for the environment? What are they most likely to destroy first, the planet or their relationship?

At once funny and eye-opening, the play paints the portrait of a generation that wonders about the future. Superbly adapted from the British play Lungs, winner of the "best new play" award at the Off West End Awards, Des Arbres presents a simple drama, powerful and relevant.

YOUNG AUDIENCES SEASON:

CRÈME-GLACÉE

APR. 7, 2018 | Studio 16

On tour in primary schools from April 3 to June 8, 2018

Produced by Théâtre la Seizième

Written by Marie-Hélène Larose-Truchon

Directed by Marie Farsi

With Sabrina Auclair & 2 actrices

Production team Mishelle Cuttler, Drew Facey, Shizuka Kai, Aidan Hammond

Little Crème-Glacée who, ironically, is not allowed to eat any ice cream, is sick and tired of Madame Sa mère never having time to finish telling stories. Always very busy, Madame Sa mère must often leave her alone to go save the environment. She then uses a remote control to summon Samantha the sitter to look after her daughter. Because of her rebelliousness and her love of stories, Crème-Glacée disobeys her mom and ends up stuck at the bottom of the ice cream container... Between the strawberry and chocolate flavoured sections, she has a surprising encounter.

A fable with deliciously fanciful and colourful notes, Crème-Glacée plunges us in an ingenuous imaginary universe where a vivacious little girl is confronted with the more nuanced reality of the adult world.

AVANT L'ARCHIPEL

On tour in high schools from May 3-25, 2018

Produced by Théâtre français de Toronto and

L'Irréductible petit peuple

Written by Emily Pearlman

Adaptation Danielle Le Saux-Farmer, André Robillard

Directed by Joël Beddows

Collaborator Guillaume Saindon

With Danielle Le Saux-Farmer, André Robillard

Music and lyrics Nicolas Di Gaetano

Production team Benoît Brunet-Poirier, Karyane Lachance, Céline Paquet, Katia Talbot, Lindsay Tremblay

Lénaïque la Magnifique cries every day in order to nourish the dragon-fruit that grow in the orchard, on the peninsula. One Sunday like any other Sunday, the young woman goes to the market on the mainland to sell her precious produce. There, she meets Brévalaire Spectaculaire, a fine "knitter of allegorical tuques". In an instant, within both of them, the dizzy feeling of an inextricable love is born.

A true masterpiece of inventiveness, the play is characterized by a remarkably rich language, as vibrant as it is picturesque.

Combining storytelling, improvisation, poetry and song, Avant l'Archipel (Countries Shaped Like Stars) transforms the audience members into active witnesses of the emotional upheaval linked to the first amorous stir.

---

Contact the Box Office at seizieme.ca or by calling 604.736.2616. 3 shows subscription package: $65-76. Single ticket: $26-30. Dinner and theatre: $58. Groups 10+ and artists: $21. Student rush: $10. Shows: Tuesday to Saturday, 8 PM. English surtitles: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Meet the artists: once a week. School reservation: ventes@seizieme.ca.

Founded in 1974, Théâtre la Seizième is the only French language, professional theatre company in British Columbia. Every year, Théâtre la Seizième presents a mainstage season, a young audiences season, a series of drama workshops, and a training and dramaturgical development program for local artists. By continuing to produce, present and commission engaging Canadian works, Théâtre la Seizième is a dynamic leader in Western Canadians' cultural and artistic lives. Over the years, the company has positioned itself as a major creation and presentation centre on the national cultural landscape. With its programming, Théâtre la Seizième reaches about 23,000 Canadians every year.

To post a comment, you must register and login.