Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
Quatre à Quatre
Drama in one long act by Michel Garneau, premiered at the Collège Lionel-Groulx, Ste-Thérèse, Quebec, May 11, 1973, directed by Jean-Luc Bastien with costumes and sets by Chantal Pépin, Pierre Pérrault and Micheline Rouillard, lights by Claire Dé and Jacques Demers, featuring Anouk Simard, Céline Beaudoin, Pauline Martin and Anne Dandurand.
It was produced professionally at Théâtre de Quat'Sous, November 20, 1974, directed by André Brassard, with set and costumes by François LaPlante, featuring Pauline Lapointe, Louise Cuerrier, Michelle Rossignol and Monique Mercure.
Quatre à Quatre was translated into English by Christian Bédard and Keith Turnbull as Four to Four, premiered at Tarragon Theatre, March 30, 1974, directed by Turnbull. It was also performed in Portuguese in Lisbon.
In poetic joual, bittersweet memories of love, family and the oppressive patriarchy are told in intertwined monologues and spoken arias by four women of four different generations of the same family. The play is hypnotic, clean-lined and deeply moving. Although reviews for the first professional production were mixed, it has firmly installed itself in the repertoire. Quatre à Quatre was published by in 1979 by VLB, Montreal.
Commentary by Gaetan Charlebois
Last updated 2020-04-06
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