The power of fiction is at the heart of 21at Never Lu, the busiest in festival history, kicked off this Thursday night at the Théâtre aux Écuries, in Montreal.
As its name suggests, this 10-day festival is an opportunity to hear a selection of plays created and unpublished texts that have not yet been read in front of an audience.
transcend reality
One of the main goals of this year’s Never Read is to put balm on the overflowing reality that plagued the planet during the long period of pandemic.
The theme of 21at Never Lu is precisely L’irréversible fiction, as a tribute to these stories that changes us, that makes us good, that asks us about the world we live insays Marcelle Dubois, artistic and general director of Never Lu,
In collaboration with her artistic cell bringing together playwrights Olivier Arteau, Alexandre Castonguay and Tamara Nguyen, Marcelle Dubois created the program roundest ever by Never Read.
This year, 22 unpublished texts – from Quebec, but also from the international Francophonie – will be honored, while the festival previously showed an average of a dozen.
In this landscape full of various artistic reports that have happened in recent years, we really want to bathe hard in new lyricssaid Marcelle Dubois.
The opening night, dubbed The last time video club, took the form of a playful test of dramaturgical improvisation. Four authors – Catherine Léger, Gabrielle Chapdelaine, Mario Laframboise and Mireille Tawfik – were mandated to write texts that were subject to public barriers and read on stage by four actors and actresses.
Viewers voted for their favorite pieces of text to write great fiction.
It’s really a game, it’s to reconnect with the pure joy of invention that writing allows us, and put ourselves in a context where we do it together, without worrying about performance.explained Marcelle Dubois.
A reading marathon
The 21at The Never Lu Festival will end on May 14 with the discovery of a new formula, titled the Fiction Strikes Back. Between 3 pm and 10 pm, seven excerpts of 30 minutes each will be read by a troupe of 12 actors and actresses.
” This is a day to let yourself be carried away by all sorts of fictional universes. “
We really wanted to make an edition that takes pride in this ability of authors to twist, to invent, to enlarge our world through words, images, symbols, even poetry.graduation by Marcelle Dubois.
The Never Lu Festival program is available online (New window).
This text was written from an interview conducted by Catherine Richer, cultural reporter for the show At 15-18. Comments can be edited for clarity and brevity.
Source: Radio-Canada