Oct. 31, 2012 - Issue #889-Human Trafficking Problem
Porc-épic
Until Sun, Nov 11Directed by Craig Holzschuh
La Cité Francophone
Beneath the radio's gentle flurry of classical strings sits Brian Dooley in his new office, coffee in hand. His desk is covered with plentiful stacks of neatly organized papers—the energy in the room is relaxed, but with an air of work to be done.
Well known around the Anglo side of the Edmonton theatre community, Dooley's new digs come with his new title: this marks his inaugural season as artistic director for L'Uni Theatre, our city's dedicated French theatre.
"It's been an adjustment, even though I'm familiar with the language and the culture. But that's a small adjustment," he explains. "It's more trying to discover what this community is, and what makes up this community. I know there are Quebecers, and Franco-Albertans, and speakers [of] continental French, and then there's the Franco-African community. So it's a real mixed bag."
Still, he seems eager, ready to relish the challenge of figuring out his newfound community. Dooley notes an interest in branching out, too, exploring the possibility of opening up L'Uni to a greater scope of English audiences than in the past. He also seems aware of the scope of that challenge. (If you didn't already know, L'Uni shows are presented with English surtitles. It's like watching a foreign film live, and more rewarding than you might expect.)
"That's always a tricky kind of goal," he admits. "Your mandate, which is French culture first and foremost, is obviously something I embrace, but at the same time—and I said this to someone recently—I don't want the theatre to be ghettoized: 'Oh, there's the French theatre over there.' I want people to recognize that it's part of the 'ecology' of the theatre landscape of this city."
Still, first things first: Dooley's crafted a season that aims to get a feel of the community he's now working in, beginning with a play he'd previously requested commissioned into English: Porc-épic, an award-winning comedy centred around a birthday party that everybody's forgotten about, except Cassandra, the birthday girl, unfolding with a mix of absurdity, black comedy and whimsy.
"All of these characters seem to be disconnected somehow," he explains. "They're all trying to either redefine their own realities, recreate a reality for themselves, and they're all on this kind of journey to affect some kind of transformation for themselves. Change their condition, if you will."
As the opening move of Dooley's first season, it seems to parallel his own hopes to discover what new directions L'Uni can go in.
"I see it as a transition: it's a first step," he says, of the season. "Next year will be something different, and probably a little more reformed—inevitably more informed, because you're more sensitive to what this community is wanting." vueweekly.com comments: powered by Disqus
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