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

LA COALITION DE LA ROBE

By Marie-Claude Garneau, Marie-Ève Milot & Marie-Claude St-Laurent
Published by Éditions du remue-ménage
Translated by Rhiannon Collett

“…the revival of Quebec’s feminist theatre, a vibrant homage to art, the place of women to challenge everything, to move from the shadows to the light, from death to life, from imprisonment to freedom.” – Le Devoir

“These creators, who advocate for the place of women in theatre, present unique work, of incandescent intelligence.” – Urban Bible

They appeared from the shadows, like from a horror movie, the invisible armed with all their crumpled and scraped ideas. In their hands were their stillborn dreams & characters.

Make room for LA COALITION DE LA ROBE – infiltrating the theatre to get women in, and they will not leave. Marie-Claude Garneau, Marie-Eve Milot and Marie-Claude St-Laurent investigate a story of invisibility and anonymity.

This interdisciplinary document records the writers’ political awakening, and their discovery of a heritage not taught in school – the works of Quebecois women. They share their personal journeys, their theatre knowledge, their liberating anger in a collection of scenes, essays and manifestos. A new generation of writers, performers, and audiences is here to shake off their chains and take their rightful place.

Chienne(s) (2018), Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui and Théâtre de l’Affamée.
Photo by Dominic LaChance

Meet the Playwrights

Marie-Ève Milot & Marie-Claude St-Laurent are the Artistic Directors of Théâtre de l’Affamée. Mandated to invest in a (re) new Feminist/feminine theatre, they create complex characters that can be identified outside the binary mode of gender, question normativity and provoke new possibilities. Active members of Femmes pour l’Équité en Théâtre (F.E.T.), they co-wrote the Jeu magazine cry t action, addressing the under-representation of women in theatre, and created reference documents for students and faculty about the under-representation of women and the systems that marginalize them. They have written 8 works together including Cour à scrap – Portrait d’une famille reconstituée, Débranchée (Unplugged) (shortlisted for the prix Louise-LaHaye 2017) and Guérilla de l’ordinaire, (shortlisted for the prix Michel-Tremblay 2020). Their essay La coalition de la robe, co-written with Marie-Claude Garneau, was published in Editions du remue-ménage in 2017. 
Théâtre de l’Affamée

Marie-Ève Milot

(Elle)

Since graduating l’École de théâtre du Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe, Marie-Eve Milot has been deeply involved in the theatre world. As an actress, she has collaborated with Hugo Bélanger (Princess Turandot, Pinocchio, Peter et Alice), Marc Beaupré (Ce samedi il pleuvait), Serge Denoncourt (Thérèse et Pierrette à l’École des Saints-Anges), Geneviève L. Blais (Si les oiseaux, Local B-1717) and Sébastien David Scratch. She was seen le Petit Théâtre de La Colline in Paris, in Les barbelés by Annick Lefebvre, staged by Alexia Boerger, and then remounted the show at the Théâtre de Quat’Sous. She can be seen on large and small screen (Les pays d’en haut, 5e rang).

Marie-Claude St-Laurent

(Elle)

Marie-Claude St-Laurent is an actor, author, feminist activist, co-editor of La Nef aux Éditions du remue-ménage. On the small screen, she was seen in the popular youth show Vrak La vie and is more recently as a cast member in L’écrivain public III and des Sioui-Bacon V. On stage, she produced Guérilla de l’ordinaire, Chienne(s), Toc Toc, Grease and Aller chercher demain. A member of the steering committee of Espace Go, and collaborated in the research study conducted by the RéQEF.

Marie-Claude Garneau

(Elle)

MARIE-CLAUDE GARNEAU trained at the Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe Theatre School. As an end-of-study internship, she participated in the UNESCO-IIT International Chair Workshops in Sinaia, Romania. She is a graduate of the University of Ottawa with her research focused on feminist dramaturgy, critical and feminist theories, women’s theatre, Quebec theatre, research-creation and socio-criticism. An actor and director, she is known for the role of Leena Babin in the popular youth series RamDam.

About the translator

Rhiannon Collett

(They, Them)

Rhiannon Collett is an award-winning non-binary playwright, performer, director and translator based in Montreal and Toronto. Their work explores the ritualization of grief, gender performativity, queer/trans identity and the psychological effects of sexual objectification. Selected playwriting credits include Miranda & Dave Begin Again (2016 Playwrights Guild of Canada RBC Emerging Playwright Award); Wasp; The Kissing Game); Tragic Queens; La Somnambule (an immersive, site-specific adaptation of Djuna Barnes’ Nightwood); The Revolutions (commissioned and produced by Spiderwebshow, a cross-country collaboration featuring artists broadcast live from Montreal, Toronto, Kingston and Vancouver); There are No Rats in Alberta. Their theatre criticism has been featured in The Globe and Mail, Now Magazine, Intermission Magazine and HowlRound. www.rhiannoncollett.com

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By Marie-Claude Garneau, Marie-Ève Milot & Marie-Claude St-Laurent |
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“…the revival of Quebec’s feminist theatre, a vibrant homage to art, the place of women to challenge everything, to move from the shadows to the light, from death to life, from imprisonment to freedom.” – Le Devoir

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“…this show crystallizes the revival of Quebec’s feminist theatre, it is a vibrant homage to art, the place of women to challenge everything, to turn everything upside down, to move from imprisonment to freedom.” – Le Devoir

Artists in Conversation – Contemporary Writing in Canada & USA

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Tues, Feb 23 at 14:30 PST | Free
Co-writers Marie-Ève Milot and Marie-Claude St-Laurent with translator Rhiannon Collett join Brittany K. Allen (Studio Theatre, Washington USA) and Keith Barker (Playwrights Guild of Canada) in conversation and introduce excerpts from their latest works.