WESTERN GOLD:
THE BALLAD OF GEORGES BOIVIN
By Martin Bellemare | Translated by Jack Paterson
A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE IS A DIFFERENT VISION OF LIFE
A glimpse into
new translation
Join us online for our English language new translation development workshop series.
Discover the leading new works of francophone Canadian theatre, meet the playwrights and their translators, and play a part in the new translation process.
FREE EVENT
DATE
Sunday, December 13, 2020
TIME
PT (Vancouver): 12PM
MT (Calgary): 1PM
CT (Regina): 2PM
ET (Montreal): 3PM
AT (Halifax): 4PM
GMT/ WET (London UK): 20:00 hrs
CET (Berlin EU): 21:00 hrs
RUNNING TIME
2 hrs including Intermission and Q&A
In Association with
Western Gold Theatre & The Canadian Play Thing
WESTERN GOLD:
THE BALLAD OF GEORGES BOIVIN
By Martin Bellemare
Translated by Jack Paterson
Translated from LE CHANT DE GEORGES BOIVIN (Quebec, Canada)
“Admirably well-constructed, Le chant de Georges Boivin intimately reveals the experiences of an elderly person with great finesse and delicacy.”
Jury of Prix Gratien-Gélinas 2009
“…a theatrical road-movie brimming with vulnerability…the play destroys any prejudice that older people are devoid of passionate. Even after great loss, love is possible.”
Alix Forgeot, L-Express.ca
At 77, Georges Boivin “gives the dice a roll”. Georges just lost his wife, you see, the “centre of his universe”. He’s terrified “he’s no longer exists for anyone”. But there is life after 70 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.
Join us after the reading for a conversation with the playwright and translator.
This translation and workshop were made possible by grants from Canada Council for the Arts. Artists appear courtesy of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association under the Dance Opera Theatre Agreement. This project is produced with the co-operation of the UBCP/ACTRA.
Le chant de Georges Boivin featuring legendary québécois actor Pierre Collin.
Directed Mario Borges and produced by Les productions Kléos (2012-2015).
Meet our Playwrights & Translator
About the playwright
Martin Bellemare
(He, Him, His)
A graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada’s writing program, Martin Bellemare was nominated for the 2020 Siminovitch Prize and awarded the 2009 Gratien Gélinas Prize for Le Chant de Georges Boivin. La Liberté was presented at La Rubrique (Jonquière) in 2013 and in Montreal in 2015, and was scheduled to be staged in Ottawa in 2020. Maître Karim la perdrix (2018 Prix SACD de la dramaturgie francophone, awarded by the Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques) will premiere at the Théâtre des Capucins in Luxembourg in 2021. Moule Robert (CNL Scholarship, shortlisted for the 2017 Prix SACD de la dramaturgie francophone and the 2018 Michel Tremblay Prize) was produced simultaneously at La Rubrique and at the POCHE/ GVE in Geneva, then at the Théâtre de Belleville in Paris. Martin is a four-time recipient of the Aide à la création grant from the Centre national du Théâtre/ARTCENA in Paris, and two of his plays are included in the repertoire of the Comédie-Française. Two of his plays for young audiences, Un château sur le dosand Des pieds et des mains, which was first produced at the NAC, have toured in Canada and internationally. In 2019, Extraordinaire et mystérieux and Charlie et le djingpouite were produced, and Cœur minéral premiered at the Francophonies in Limoges. The latter play was scheduled for a Montreal production in 2020.
His work has been produced in Quebec, France, Poland and Switzerland and translated into German, Italian and Lithuanian.
About the translator
Jack Paterson
(He, Him, His)
Jack’s practice has taken him across Canada, the UK and around the world. His work has ranged from contemporary devising, multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural and multi-ligual projects to new works and contemporary approaches to classical theatre. He trained at Circle in the Square (NYC, USA), GITIS (Moscow, RU), SENI (Denpasar, INA) and received his MFA from The University of Essex and East 15 Acting School (London, UK). Recent project include devised creation in Italy (Teatro Trieste 34, Piacenza) and Indonsia (SENI, Denpasar), and a deep dive into German innovation with Flausen+ (theatre wrede+, Oldenburg). www.JackPatersonTheatre.com
Meet the workshop team
Jay Brazeau (He, Him)
Jay is seemingly everywhere. His TV work includes SUPERNATURAL, PSYCH, STARGATE SGI, BATES MOTEL, ROGUE, WEST WING, THE X FILES, AIR BUD and THE KILLING. Films: DOUBLE JEOPARDY, WATCHMEN, INSOMNIA, BEST IN SHOW, COOL RUNNINGS, WE’RE NO ANGELS, THE POSSESSION, LITTLE WOMEN, ANDRE, HEAD OVER HEELS, HORNS, FATHERS AND SONS and many others. You’ve HEARD him in countless voice roles for cartoons from “Sabrina: The Animated Series” to “My Little Pony”. Plus voicing the the NFB Oscar-nominated THE BIG SNIT. Jay’s favourite theatre roles includes: Man in the Chair “The Drowsy Chaperone” (National Arts Centre, Vancouver Playhouse), Tevye “Fiddler on the Roof” (California The Rubicon Theatre), “The Goat” (Presentation House Theatre), Cyrano (Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival), The Wiz in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s North American Tour of “Wizard of Oz” and the wonderful Edna Turnblad in the Canadian premiere of “Hairspray”. Jay is writing his own play FORTUNATE SONS and co-writing a screenplay THE PROFESSIONALS. IMBD
John Innes (He, Him)
John Innes was an early graduate of the National Theatre School (’67). He has performed in every major regional theatre in Canada, including 12 seasons with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival where he received a Tyrone Guthrie Award twice. He has also performed in regional theatres in the United States including 3 seasons with the Denver Center Theatre Company. In all, he has been a working actor for over 55 years.
Dramaturg: Johanna Nutter (She, Her)
Johanna Nutter is artistic director of creature/creature, a polymorphic company born of Nutter’s passion for blurring lines between established divisions. Her work has toured extensively throughout her home province of Quebec, across Canada and internationally, in both English and French, to such venues as Soho Theatre (London), The Pleasance (Edinburgh), Les Halles (Brussels), and La Licorne (Montreal). She won the PWM/Cole Emerging Translator award and brought CHLORINE (Longpré & Michon), which produced and directed at The Centaur (Brave New Looks 2016). She is currently working on texts by Annick Lefèbvre, Guillaume Corbeil, and Étienne Lepage.
* Artists appear courtesy of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association under the Dance Opera Theatre Agreement and the UBCP/ACTRA ULB Agreement.
About our Partners
About Western Gold Theatre
Western Gold Theatre is the premier company in the country focused on sharing and celebrating the talents of senior professional theatre artists (age 55+). Western Gold also mentors emerging younger professional artists as they ‘share the boards’ with us. We are a vibrant creative gathering place for artists and audiences, young and old. www.westerngoldtheatre.org
About The Canadian Play Thing
The Canadian Play Thing is a playwright-centred virtual theatre that shares live readings of new and under-produced Canadian plays online. The goal is to support and celebrate the work of playwrights, and to connect our theatre family across the country. Artists and audiences around the world are welcome. www.plaything.ca
Resources: Francophone Canadian Theatre
About Centre des auteurs dramatique
An association of authors serving authors, CEAD is a centre for the support, promotion and dissemination of French-language dramaturgy here. It occupies a unique place both in terms of the number of authors it brings together and the objectives of quality and innovation it pursues. www.cead.qc.ca
About Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal
Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal is a new creation development centre. PWM gives artists the opportunity to create and experiment, dream and take risks, fail and try again. Our dynamic collaborative process draws on our team’s unique expertise and is tailored to the artist’s individual needs. At PWM, playwrights, dramaturgs, translators, directors, performance artists, and theatre companies across the country find a creative accomplice willing to invest deeply in the development of meaningful work. www.playwrights.ca
About Théâtre la Seizième
Founded in 1974, Théâtre la Seizième is the main French language, professional theatre company in British Columbia. Since its creation, la Seizième contributes to the richness and diversity of the performing arts through its activities in new play development, production, presentation, and touring in French. Through powerful experiences that reflect the very best of francophone performing arts, from here and elsewhere, our company aims to inspire, enrich, and bring together diverse audiences. www.seizieme.ca
Special
Thank You
