Ce soir l’Amérique prend son bain
Geneviève draws a map of the world. She puts America right in the centre and says: “We are here. We are the leaders.” Jean-Pascal puts his arm in his sweater. He will be called Martin: his plan begins with an amputated arm. Marc wants to be a TV host, like the one in La Poule aux Oeufs d’Or [a Québec game show]. His first guest will be Gertrude Stein. Pascale is in a rush, and time is flying. She says, “America is a blank page: we can write whatever we want on it.” Slowly, a family appears. A family with no father, mother, or story, only a made-up name: Beaulieu, French for “lovely place”… as in, “What a lovely place: I would like to live here my whole life.” In the company’s second show, the story of America is told through the darkly funny narrative of a family of orphans searching for their identity. This play illustrates how challenging it is to write your own story. If America, with its vast spaces and multiple possibilities, is a blank page… what should we write on it?
Premiered on April 6, 2005, at Bain Mathieu in Montreal.
Photos : Frédéric Bouchard & Glauco
Devised by the company
Original Concept/Director: Catherine Bourgeois
Assistant Director: Amélie Dumoulin
Cast: Marc Barakat, Jean-Pascal Fournier, Geneviève Morin-Dupont, Pascale St-Jean, and Pablo the dog
Production Manager/Support Person: Anne Williams
Original Music: Julie Rousse
Wardrobe: Julie Charland
Set and Props Associate: Marie-Hélène Généreux
Graphic Design: Mivil
Video: Anne Willians and Alexandra Oakley
Publicity: Sandrine Gris (Scarabée Torpille)
Produced in collaboration with Les Muses: Center for the Performing Arts and the Bain Mathieu (S.P.A.G.)
