From Montreal to London via translator Johanna Nutter’s skype
This March, Bouche was kindly invited by the British Equity WSW London Office to lead some new play development activities. Taking advantage of this opportunity to introduce British artists to francophone Canadian works, we workshopped two translations. Barbed Wire translator, Johanna Nutter, joined us from Montreal via skype.
BARBED WIRE By Annick Lefebvre | Translated by Johanna Nutter
A strand of barbed wire has started to grow inside you. You’ve got about an hour before your lips are sewn shut. What will you say while you still have the time? What will be your last word? This play is written with gender fluidity in mind.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT: ANNICK LEFEBVRE Before completing her degree in criticism and dramaturgy, Annick Lefebvre had placed her buttocks in Wajdi Mouawad’s Rehearsal Hall for Incendie (Scorched). In 2012, Annick founded Le Crachoir, a company that examines the role of the author in the process of creating, producing and presenting theatre. She is the author of Ce samedi il pleuvait (Marc Beaupré, Le Crachoir, Aux Écuries, 2013), La machine à révolte (Jean Boillot, Le Préau / NEST-Théâtre, 2015), Barbelés (Alexia Bürger, Théâtre de Quat’sous et Théâtre La Colline, 2017) and ColoniséEs (René Richard Cyr, CTD’A, 2019). Her play J’accuse (Sylvain Bélanger, CTD’A, 2015) received the BMO Dramatic Writing Award, was a finalist for the AQCT Critics’ Award, the Prix Michel Tremblay and the Governor General of Canada Literary Award in 2015. Annick is currently adapting J’accuse for France (Sébastien Bournac, compagnie Tabula Rasa). Her work is published by Dramaturges Éditeurs.
Special thank you to actors to Stevie Skinner and JD Hunt.
BoucheWHACKED! Theatre Collective and British Equity London Branch
WESTERN GOLD: THE BALLAD OF GEORGES BOIVIN
By Marting Bellemare | Translated by Jack Paterson Translated from Le Chant de Georges Boivin (Quebec)
Workshoped with Micheal Grinter and Charles Roe | Produced by Lola May and Jack Paterson
At 77, Georges Boivin decides “gives the dice a roll”. Georges just lost his wife, you see, the “centre of his universe”. He’s terrified “he no longer exists for anyone”. But there is life after your 70s and it must continue even after great loss. With his three friends, all the same age as he, he sets out on road trip from Québec to Vancouver, in search of his first love who he hasn’t seen in 50 years. Recipient of Le Prix Gratien-Gélinas 2009
This translation made possible by a commission from Western Gold Theatre (Vancouver) and a grant from Canada Council for the Arts.
This September and October, Bouche was kindly invited by the British Equity WSW London Office to lead some new play development activities. Taking advantage of this opportunity to introduce British artists to francophone Canadian and international works, we workshopped three translations.
From Alaska (Quebec, Canada) By Sébastien Harrisson | Translated by Leanna Brodie
One summer night, a wild-eyed teenage boy bursts into the quiet suburban home of a woman he knows only as “Miss”, declaring that neither of them will leave her house until he gets answers for questions are too painful to ask.
About the playwright: Sébastien Harrisson One of the most innovative voices in contemporary Quebecois theatre, Sébastien Harrisson trained in drama writing at the National Theatre School of Canada. He is the author of over a dozen plays, he is established on both on the Quebec and French stages. With his work has been translated into German, English, Spanish and Flemish.
Special thank you to the wonderful artists Rosie Akerman, Eleanor Bennett, Joan Blackham, Viny Lad, Kavé Niku, Caroline Partridge Jay Ramji, Saria Steeland and James Watterson; Vancouver translator Leanna Brodie joining us a 6AM Vancouver time by Skype, and Lola May for organizing it!
This September and October, Bouche was kindly invited by the British Equity WSW London Office to lead some new play development activities. Taking advantage of this opportunity to introduce British artists to francophone Canadian and international works, we workshopped three translations.
Horses from Heaven fall in a rain of ash (Iran) By Naghmeh Samini | Translated by Jack Paterson
Prince Siyâvash, the symbol of innocence in Persian literature, is ordered by his father to ride into a burning pyre for a crime he did not commit. In the flames, he encounters those who confront his future actions and his current beliefs. Inspired and drawn from the Shahnameh (The Book of Kings), and South Asian, Chinese and Western mythologies.
About the playwright: Naghmeh Samini Naghmem Samini (Ph.D), playwright, scriptwriter and lecturer in Dramatic Arts, was born in Iran and received her BA in Drama and MA in Cinema from the University of Tehran. She did her PhD in Art Studies at the University of Tarbiat Modarres (Tehran) with a thesis focused on Drama and Mythology. Her plays have been staged in Iran, France, India, Canada, the United States and other countries. Her plays are experimental in structure and handle a variety of topical subjects at personal and sociopolitical levels. Her play The King and the Mathematician: A Legend(2012) was selected by UNESCO as one of the cultural achievements of the year.
Special thank you to the wonderful artists Rosie Akerman, Eleanor Bennett, Joan Blackham, Viny Lad, Kavé Niku, Caroline Partridge Jay Ramji, Saria Steeland and James Watterson; Vancouver translator Leanna Brodie joining us a 6AM Vancouver time by Skype, and Lola May for organizing it!
This September and October, Bouche was kindly invited by the British Equity WSW London Office to lead some new play development activities. Taking advantage of this opportunity to introduce British artists to francophone Canadian and international works, we workshopped three translations.
The Naughty Children’s Bedtime Stories (Quebec, Canada) By Étienne Lepage | Translated by Jack Paterson
Eight horrible stories spring from the fertile imaginations two little good-for-nothings who refuse to go to bed. This play was 2015 French Language Governor Generals Award finalist.
About the playwright: Étienne Lepage Étienne Lepage is a multiple Governor General Award nominated playwright, screenwriter, translator, and transdisciplinary creator. Based in Montreal, his work has been presented across North America and Europe. His other writing includes Rouge Gueule, L’Enclos de l’éléphant, Ainsi parlait.
Special thank you to the wonderful artists Rosie Akerman, Eleanor Bennett, Joan Blackham, Viny Lad, Kavé Niku, Caroline Partridge Jay Ramji, Saria Steeland and James Watterson; Vancouver translator Leanna Brodie joining us a 6AM Vancouver time by Skype, and Lola May for organizing it!
