Curatorial Statement – Craig Holzschuh on The Dragonfly of Chicoutimi
December 09, 2013
The first time I saw The Dragonfly of Chicoutimi in 1999 as part of Théâtre la Seizième’s season, actor Jean-Louis Millette performed this one person play with such virtuosity that I could not see myself ever seeing anyone else perform this play and enjoying it. I was wrong.
Re-imagining an iconic contemporary work so that we are not continuously comparing the original production with the current one is no small task. Doing it as successfully as director Claude Poissant has done it with this production of The Dragonfly of Chicoutimi is an example of sheer genius. What was originally a simple monologue with nearly no technical support has been transformed under Poissant’s deft hand into a sort of breathtaking High Mass for a chorus of five voices complete with haunting organ soundtrack. The five actors are raw and intensely emotional, the directing is imaginative, intelligent and risky and the story continues to test our notions of perception, identity and cultural definition. Fifteen years later, the play is still one of the most important ones of the contemporary Quebecois cannon and this production will undoubtedly keep audiences talking about The Dragonfly of Chicoutimi for years to come.
Craig Holzschuh, Artistic & Managing Director
Théâtre la Seizième
January 22–25
Fei & Milton Wong Experimental Theatre, SFU’s Goldcorp Centre For The Arts
149 West Hastings Street
8:00PM (75 min, no intermission)
PuSh Conversations:
Post-Performance Talk: January 23