Francophone Theatres of Western Canada: Investing in Their Marginality

Abstract

Far removed from the francophone centres of Eastern Canada and their theatrical institutions, those who create theatre in the West are at work in the extreme margin of the Canadian Francophonie. Investing in their own marginality, Franco-Canadian theatre artists in the West describe little-known realities in plays whose theatricality reflects the contexts from which they arise. The exploration of identity generated by a cultural hybridization either imposed or consensual—which appears as much in the text as it does in the performance itself—, the openness to a diversity deemed necessary to survival, the involvement of a community in the development of its theatre, and the promotion of the Métis language and culture are among the many aspects of research to be found in these collected articles that highlight not only the preoccupations and the aspirations of the artists working within the francophone communities of Western Canada, but the dramatic means that shape their creations.