Montreal Festival Fever

Abstract

From 22 May to 4 June Montreal hosted two important theatre festivals: the 16th Festival québécois du jeune théâtre and the first Festival de théâtre des Amériques. In all, the festivals offered some 24 different shows, close to 100 performances, and more than 400 artists at work in a dozen performance halls, outside stages, workshops and panels. Six special events were planned to complement the festival activity: a conference of women in theatre in the Americas called The Next Stage, organized by Rina Fraticelli and Joanne Gormley; an International colloquium on theatre criticism organized by the Jeu collective; a series of morning seminars about the work being presented; a workshop on the techniques of the Theatre of the Oppressed with Brazil’s Augusto Boal; a workshop with Théâtre Repère from Quebec City; and a special program of films about theatre and culture at the Cinémathèque québécoise focusing on the work of the Living Theatre. Attendance at Festival shows exceeded 95 percent, surpassing even the most optimistic expectations of festival organizers Marie-Hélène Falcon and Jacques Vézina. Audiences flocked to see not only Quebec and Canadian theatre, but work from Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, and the United States that rarely Is performed north of the 49th parallel.