French

WITH, AMONG OTHERS
Djennie LAGUERRE · Patricia MARCEAU
Michel SÉGUIN AND Manuel VERREYDT

DIRECTED BY Jean-Stéphane ROY


A PRODUCTION OF THÉÂTRE FRANÇAIS DE TORONTO


DON QUIXOTE LIVES IN A WORLD OF DREAMS and is pursued by ghosts from his past. This modern fable begins in the subway in downtown Toronto. A young man in a grey suit is about to jump onto the tracks as the train roars in. Don Quixote prevents him from taking the fatal jump under the metal dragon with eyes of light. Grateful for having been saved, the young man decides to follow Don Quixote in his chivalrous adventures. Don Quixote and his companion then set out on their quest for Princess Alicia. They meet a number of mysterious creatures born of their imagination. Don Quixote will eventually face an important choice: whether to continue living in a world of fantasy or come back to reality. What will he do?



"What would compel a man to retreat to a dream? What happens when reality flirts with fiction? Those of us residing in Toronto can easily wonder every day: are we living a dream or reality? This is the primary question in my adventure exploring the mythology of Don Quixote in an urban context."
– GLEN CHARLES LANDRY




 
IS IT FOLLY TO PURSUE ONE’S DREAMS?

One day, as I was walking downtown and gazing at the skyscrapers, I felt like Don Quixote facing ultramodern windmills. This image convinced me that something extremely modern must be written about our city, a city of contrasts, of contradictions and provocations.

Toronto’s Don Quixote originated in Le Don Quichotte de la Gare Union, one of the stories in the 2005 version of Contes urbains, contes torontois. In order to expand on this story already rich in dramatic elements, Glen Charles Landry became playwright-in-residence at TfT. His texts are full of the poetry typical of his native Acadie.


GUY MIGNAULT