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Albertine, en cinq temps

CTE photo
Michel Tremblay

Drama in one long act by Michel Tremblay. First produced at the National Arts Centre October 12, 1984. Directed by André Brassard starring Huguette Oligny, Gisèle Schmidt, Amulette Garneau, Rita Lafontaine, Muriel Dutil and Paule Marier. Extremely successful revival in 1995 at Espace Go, this time directed by Martine Beaulne and starring the dream-cast of Monique Mercure, Andrée Lachapelle, Sophie Clément, Élise Guilbeaut, Sylvie Drapeau and Guylaine Tremblay (this production subsequently toured and was revived into 2000 with Macha Limonchik replacing Mme Drapeau). Along with the distinction of being one of Tremblay's most often-produced and translated works it also received the Chalmer's Award in 1986 for its Tarragon Theatre production (as Albertine, In Five Times).

Albertine, featured prominently in Tremblay's theatrical and fictional works, is 70 and arrives at a retirement home where she confronts her past. She begins to interact with herself at five different times in her life, at 30 (when she had her naïveté stripped from her), at 40 (when she descended into a harsh, bitter depression), at 50 (when she recovered some of her joy of living only to see it torn to pieces) and at 60 (when she went mad). Not precisely a "fun night of theatre" it is nevertheless a supreme achievement in terms of dramatic construction and emotional punch. The other interesting aspect of this piece is that we see Albertine's various personae through the way she speaks, from Tremblay's standard Montreal joual, to a more reflective use of French.

Commentary by Gaetan Charlebois

Last updated 2019-11-14