Shirley Nadeau
shirley@qctonline.com

The 22nd edition the Carrefour international de théâtre was announced during a press conference held at Le Diamant theatre, coincidentally on April 20, 2022.

Dominique Violette, chief executive director, and Marie Gignac, artistic director of the theatre festival, were delighted to be able to present this year’s program after a two-year hiatus. Seven productions will be held in theatres and three outdoors.

• May 26-28: Désobéir, a music and dance production by Les Cambrioleurs from Brest, France, will be presented at Théatre La Bordée in French only.
• May 27-29: White Out, by L’eau du bain in Chelsea, Quebec, at the Salle Multi, coopérative Méduse in French only.
• May 31-June 2: I/O (= Input/Output) by Posthumains from Montreal, at Méduse, in French and English with French surtitles.
• June 1 (in English), June 2-3 (in French): Not One of These People / Pas une de ces personnes, is a Quebec- London creation by British author Martin Crimp who will deliver the world première lecture-performance of his most recent book with deepfake videos of 299 people, at Théâtre La Bordée.
• June 3-5: Le Virus et la Proie, by Montreal’s Nouveau Théâtre Expérimental, is a flamboyant indictment against the system addressed directly to those who hold power and money at Le Diamant, in French only.
• June 8-9: La Trilogie Hamartia – The History of Korean Western Theatre, and on June 10-11: Lolling and Rolling (a touching documentary about the difficulty of learning English in South Korea. The “R” sound is not in the Korean language), and Cuckoo, which features talking automatic rice cookers, will be presented at Méduse, in Korean and English, with French and English subtitles.
• June 9-11: Contes et Légendes, produced by Compagnie Louis Brouillard from Paris, is a futuristic piece which features young people and humanoid robots, presented at Le Diamant in French only.

Holoscenes, a bizarre production by the Early Morning Opera company of Los Angeles is a free event that will take place outdoors at Place D’Youville from June 5 to 9, continuously from 5 to 10 p.m. It features a clear glass tank that is transformed into a giant aquarium as several tons of water suddenly fill it, submerging the performers inside it as they go about their daily activities.

L’Heure Bleue, a production by Quebecers David Bouchard and Maxime Robin, is a contemporary French adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet that will take place outdoors at the Centre de plein air de Beauport from June 6 to 11 at sunset. Shivers guaranteed!

William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, a radical retelling by Cliff Cardinal of the Crow’s Theatre in Toronto, will be presented in English with French surtitles, on June 7 and 8, at the Théâtre La Bordée, because . . . “All the world’s a stage!”

The location of the free outdoor Où tu vas quand tu dors en marchant…? (Where do you go when you sleep-walk…?) events on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings during the festival from 9 to 11 p.m. will be revealed later in May.

For more information about the productions and tickets, visit carrefourtheatre.qc.ca or call 418-529-1996. Certain productions are not recommended for children under age 12 or 14.