Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
Un oiseau vivant dans la gueule
Drama in four scenes by Jeanne-Mance Delisle, premiered at the Théâtre du Cuivre, April 2, 1987, directed by Isabel Villeneuve, set by Louise Campeau, costumes and masks by Luc Béland, and lights by Sabin Hudon, featuring Frédérique Collin, Bertrand Gagnon and Doris St-Pierre. The work subsequently played during the 1987 edition of the Festival de Théâtre des Amériques (now Festival TransAmériques). It was translated by Yves Saint-Pierre as A Live Bird in its Jaws. The play received the Governor General’s Award.
It is an open-set tone poem and sexual psycho drama, performed in chiaroscuro.
Hélène is writing a play featuring a family including twin brothers: Xavier, a bisexual, and Adrien. Masks are produced and the play within the play begins. With violent imagery, Delisle slides through the shadows in this tale of identity and conjoined souls.
It is theatre about theatre, strongly reminiscent of Genet's The Maids and Sartre's No Exit, and Dominic Champagne's La Répétition/Playing Bare.
Readings: Jeanne-Mance Delisle. Un Oiseau vivant dans la gueule. Montreal, Pleine lune, 1987.
Commentary by Gaetan Charlesbois
Last updated 2023-08-21
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