Stage Door News
Ottawa: The NAC French Theatre presents the Patti Smith celebration “Parce que la nuit” October 16-19
Thursday, September 26, 2019
In this overview of the life and work of Patti Smith, Brigitte Haentjens draws us into a total creative whirlwind in the heart of a changing America. Parce que la nuit combines electric guitars, poetry, counterculture and romanticism in the free and effervescent spirit of the ’70s.
| Patti Smith arrived in New York in 1967, just over 20 years old, hungry for freedom and in step with the city’s artistic effervescence and social upheavals. There she met Robert Mapplethorpe, who would later become an art photographer, and the young playwright Sam Shepard; Patti herself became a poet, musician, painter, muse, icon. A paradoxical figure, a totally engaged artist shapedby her affinity for Kerouac and Rimbaud, the fighter with the androgynous body personified the |
| spirit of punk long before it became a household word. |
Unique and complex, like the artist herself, this creation about Patti Smith continues the creative research of Brigitte Haentjens, who, with her company Sibyllines, explores the secret fractures of female identity. Here, her compelling dramatic writing is interwoven with poems, songs, and music performed live by three musicians. The script is co-written by Dany Boudreault and BrigitteHaentjens, with the collaboration of Céline Bonnier, a long-time associate of NAC French Theatre’s artistic director.
Parce que la nuit
October 16 to 19, 2019, 8 p.m. at NAC Azrieli Studio
In French with passages in English
Written by Dany Boudreault and Brigitte Haentjens in collaboration with Céline Bonnier
Directed by Brigitte Haentjens
With Alex Bergeron, Céline Bonnier, Dany Boudreault, Martin Dubreuil and Leni Parker
Musicians Bernard Falaise, Patrick Hamilton and Rémi Leclerc
Produced by Sibyllines, ESPACE GO and NAC French Theatre
Running time: approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes with no intermission
POST-SHOW TALK
There will be a post-show talk after the performance on Thursday, October 17. A unique opportunity to gain insight into the show and to ask the artists some questions!
For tickets, visit nac-cna.ca.
Photo: Scene from Parce que la nuit. © 2019 Yanick MacDonald.