La Goddam Voie Lactée

MAYDAY (Montreal)

Onstage, five tables are arranged in a half-circle. At each sits one woman; they are here to observe and to testify. La Goddam Voie Lactée is a ritual of sorts—a pagan expression of mourning, an atavistic lamentation. After a musical opening that moves from gentleness to sonic ferocity, a strange pageant commences: in a series of solo, duo, and group performances, the women air their grief and anger. There are trance-like dance movements, animalistic utterances, and roars of complaint; it’s a conjuring of our worldly troubles, an invocation of tragedy, an attempt to encompass woe on a massive scale… 

Amid the rich colours, the wild gestures, and the frenzied vocalizations, these women impart to us something deeply personal, yet public in its cathartic value: a secular mass in which our discontents can be expressed. MAYDAY’s vision is dark, but ultimately celebratory: their act of reckoning is also one of self-imagination, and in that endeavour lie joy and hope. There will be a post-show chat after the February 5 performance, moderated by Gabrielle Martin.

Listen to a podcast of MAYDAY’s Mélanie Demers talking about her creative process here.

Listen to the original soundtrack of the production, which is also available to purchase, here.

“[A] work that is at turns dramatic, humorous, grotesque, and poetic, forming a fragmented but solid artistic whole that exhibits total commitment.” 

—La Presse

“It is a visually magnificent production… the entirely female cast asserts itself on all fronts.” 

—Spirale magazine

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