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Apprentis-Sorciers

Company in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1955 by Jean Bellemare and Jean-Guy Sabourin, who was Artistic Director from 1956 to 1966. Though amateur, the influence they had on theatre in the province cannot be overstated, proving that productions of contemporary works could be viable.

They were known as avant-gardiste, presenting Beckett's Fin de de partie/Endgame, Ionesco's Ls Chaises/The Chairs, and La Leçon/The Lesson, as well as the works of Synge, Lorca, Claudel and Brecht in small, stripped-down productions which focussed on the text. They also produced some new works, including Pierre Perrault's Au coeur de la rose.

The Company initially performed in a former bakery with only three rows of seats, then in a 60-seat venue converted from an old printing house, called La Boulangerie, where they presented from three to five works a year. In 1965-66, the Company was inactive, after an eviction from its theatre, but moved into a new, flexible space on Papineau Street, which could be altered for each show. Their last season included Edward Albee's Zoo Story and Quebec playwright Yerri Kemf's Une Simple Mécanique.

In 1968, they joined with other companies to become Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui.

Profile by Gaetan Charlebois. Additional information from Madeleine Greffard. The Oxford Companion to Canadian Theatre, eds. Eugene Benson and L.W. Conolly. Toronto: Oxford UP, 1989.

Last updated 2021-09-23