Bouche Theatre Collective

Speak Beyond Language

And If One Night

By Lisa L’Heureux | Translated by Mishka Lavigne

During this current period of uncertainty, it is with a special gratitude to Canada Council for the Arts and a special pleasure to be able to support freelance and independent artists. BoucheWHACKED! Theatre Collective New Translation commission series continues with the award winning Et si un soir.

Running Time:
1 hr 20 min

Characters:
1 M | 3 F

This translation was made possible by a grant from Canada Council for the Arts.

And If One Night

By Lisa L’Heureux | Translated by Mishka Lavigne
Translated from ET SI UN SOIR (Quebec, Canada)

“Modern and poetic…four characters whose desires for true human contact seek to transcend the virtuality of screens and the superficiality of online relationships. …Lisa L’Heureux’s characters use the darkness of night to reveal their true colors. Even if they’re hide behind an avatar or keyboard to communicate…Mia, Danielle, Anita and Joseph emerge from the shadows with courage and clumsiness as believable as it is touching. Her pen rich with accuracy and affection, Lisa L’Heureux portrays a generation in search of self and real, concrete meaning to give to its intimacy. “ – ici.radio-canada.ca

In a grey apartment building, four characters live in a dreamlike space in which time moves forward without moving, sometimes in an offbeat and unsettling way. Written as a fragmented dream, this choral piece draws its inspiration from the night to dive into zones of human intimacy that are often hidden. Here, inaction, the moment that precedes the act, is the root of all tension.

Et si un soir was directed by Lisa L’Heureux, produced by Théâtre Rouge Écarlate with the support of Théâtre du Trillium, Nouvelle Scène Gilles-Desjardins in Ottawa, 2018 and received a residency at Chartreuse-lez-Avignon, France, 2015. It was a shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award French Language Drama 2019, the Prix du livre d’Ottawa (2019) and the Emerging Author Award Prix littéraire Émergence de l’AAOF (2019).

It was the recipient of the Prix littéraire Trillium (2019) and Lisa’s production won the Prix Rideau, Outstanding Production Award.

This translation was made possible by a grant from Canada Council for the Arts.

Et si un soir (2018) | A Théâtre Rouge Écarlate production, with the support of Théâtre du Trillium, presented at La Nouvelle Scène Gilles Desjardins.
Photo credit: Jonathan Lorange

About the playwright

LISA L’HEUREUX

LISA L’HEUREUX (She, her, hers) is an Ottawa-based playwright, director, and dramaturg. She is a graduate of  University of Ottawa (B.A. in Theatre and History) and of University of British Columbia (M.A. in Theatre Research). With her company, Théâtre Rouge Écarlate, she has created Ciseaux, Pour l’hiver (Prix Jacques-Poirier 2017), and Et si un soir, cocreated Proximité and directed Projet D. She has had playwright residencies in Belgium (Mariemont, CED-WB), France (La Chartreuse de Villeneuve les Avignon) and with Théâtre du Trillium (Ottawa). She has contributed to many collaborative pieces, such as À quoi ça sert d’être brillant si t’éclaires personne (NAC French Theatre). As a dramaturg, Lisa worked with Satellite Théâtre (Moncton) and with Sudbury playwright Antoine Côté Legault. She is completed a podcast version of Et si un soir.

About the translator

Mishka Lavigne

Mishka Lavigne (She,her, hers) is a playwright and literary translator based in Ottawa/Gatineau. Her translation work for theatre has been seen in Ottawa, Montreal, and France. Héritage, her translation of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun opened the 2019-2020 season at Duceppe in Montreal.  She is currently working on a French translation of Karen Hines’ All The Little Animals I Have Eaten. Her translations of poetry were published in Ontario and Québec, included the recently published Cette blessure est un territoire, a French translation of Billy-Ray Belcourt’s Griffin Poetry Prize winning collection This Wound is a World. Her own works include Cinéma (Théâtre la Catapulte and Théâtre Belvédère.), Vigile (Théâtre Rouge Écarlate). Her play Havre recently won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama (French) and was shortlisted for the Prix Michel-Tremblay.

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