Francophone theatre’s 99th season offers diverse lineup

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This article was published 13/09/2024 (770 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Pregnancy, political intrigue, existential taxi rides, Mozambican songcraft and Wendat puppetry — Théâtre Cercle Molière’s upcoming 99th season has it all.

Under the artistic direction of Geneviève Pelletier, the pioneering and progressive St. Boniface company has bolstered its reputation for risk-taking productions that invite contemplation and consideration across both real and imagined community boundaries.

The season, built around the theme of connection, begins with Soft Spot, directed and co-produced by the multidisciplinary francophone artist Stéphanie Morin-Robert (Coming and Going, The Merkin Sisters).

Morin-Robert’s latest is an experiment in twinned storytelling about a pregnant woman contemplating the ways her life will change and a retired man reflecting on the ways his has and hasn’t.

A still-developing version of the show received stellar reviews at this summer’s Edmonton Fringe Festival, with the Journal calling it “colourful and bawdy.” Soft Spot’s run at Cercle Molière goes from Oct. 16 to 26.

French-born Manitoban Bertrand Nayet’s Under the Linden Trees comes to the theatre in November. The local haikuist will direct a narrative that follows the personal travails of Gina Lagarde, the daughter of failed revolutionaries and the sister of a deceased terrorist.

Set in “a maybe not-so-distant future,” it runs from Nov. 20 to 30.

Longtime high school educator Philippe Habeck directs the season’s next production, Here and There!, which follows 18-year-old Isabelle as she navigates regrets and impending stresses with the help of a taxi driver.

Recommended for an audience 13 years and up, the ride begins Jan. 15 and wraps up on Jan. 25.

For several years, Cercle Molière’s season has included collaborations driven by the growing presence of African diasporic communities in Winnipeg in general and St. Boniface in particular.

On Feb. 8, the theatre will play host to Maputo-Mozambique, billed as a “rousing show of juggling, rhythmic singing and percussive dance.” Produced by Compagnie TG and directed by Thomas Guérineau, it’s a one-night-only affair.

In February, for the fourth time, Cercle Molière will also host the month-long Black and Proud program, curated and directed by Wilgis Agossa, who fashioned this year’s event around the theme of Words on Wounds.

Montreal puppeteer Jocelyn Sioui and Productions Illusion Fabuleuse will close the season with a short run of Frisky and Agile, a puppet showcase telling the story of Auhaïtsic, a misunderstood Wendat hero.

Running April 16-19, the work is described as a hybrid of history and fantasy, featuring collaboration with a band of instrumentalists who pluck their strings as Sioui manipulates his own.

Tickets, and more information about memberships and bookings, are available at cerclemoliere.com. All shows include subtitle options in English and French, except for Maputo-Mozambique, which is wordless.

ben.waldman@winnipegfreepress.com