Centaur Theatre Company's
Brave New Looks
presents
Talisman Theatre’s
Rock, Paper, Jackknife….

October 6 – 17, 2009
10 shows only!
Tuesday to Saturday at 7:30 pm
Matinee on Saturday 17th of October at 1:30 pm
Tickets: Adults: $20 - Students: $15 – Groups(10 or more): $17

Running time 90 minutes with no intermision.

Centaur Theatre is thrilled to present this audacious Quebecois play as part of the Brave New Looks initiative. Never performed in English.

Rock, Paper, Jackknife... tells us about the arrival of five kids in a village in the Great North. Stowaways, these kids just spent one month in a container. The survivors don't speak the language of the remote mining settlement; they speak Brusque, the language of a different, war-torn culture. Meilke, the settlement's nurse is assigned for better or for worst to educate them. Between the opening and closing scene disturbing secrets are revealed, cultural paradoxes are explored, poetic contrasts are emphasized, and the portrayal of suffering is pushed to its limit.

Stealthily, in the guise of Ali's innocent voice 'Rock, Paper, Jackknife...' penetrates the audiences' defenses, touching a nerve of immediacy rarely tapped. Largely narrated through childlike metaphors and descriptions, the story frees us of adult self-censorship. Ali's narration, so unsophisticated, remains allegorical, almost poetic, filled with the looming presence of cultural conflict.

Written following Perreault's experience in Northern Quebec, 'Rock, Paper, Jackknife...' is also influenced by the tragedies at Columbine, Dawson, and Virginia Tech. This play is not about everyday events, but of extremes -of alienation, isolation, and despair. A play that digs deeply into questions of accountability, voice and nationality.

Written by Marilyn Perreault
Translated by Nadine Desrochers
Directed by Emma Tibaldo

Starring (in order of appearancey):
Julie Tamiko Manning (Mielke)
Rockne Corrigan (Nox)
Stefanie Buxton (Ali)
Alex McCooeye (Taymore)
Lucinda Davis (Sola)

Lyne Paquette, Set Designer
David Perreault Ninacs, Lighting Designer
Fruzsina Lanyi, Costume Designer
Michael Leon, Sound Designer
Rasili Botz, Movement Designer

About Talisman Theatre
Talisman Theatre's mandate is to discover works by Quebecois playwrights in English translations that have not yet been produced on English stages in Montreal. Talisman Theatre is a group of exceptional professionals drawn together from the Montreal community who have been collaborating since 2005. Talisman's first production was 'That Woman' (2006) a translation of the award-winning play 'Celle-là' by Daniel Danis. This was so successful that it was restaged as a co-production with Infinitheatre in 2007. This production was nominated prix de la critique 2007 for best English production. The last production was 'Down Dangerous Passes Road' (November 2008) a translation of award-winning 'Chemin des passes dangereuses' by Michel-Marc Bouchard. Both English versions were by award-winning translator Linda Gaboriau.

About the writer
Marilyn Perreault is an award-winning Quebecois playwright, the author of four plays. Perreault's first play 'Les Apatrides' won two 'Masques' for "'révélation de l'année' for its boldness and the success of its theatrical realisation". 'Roche, Papier, Couteau...' (2007) was acclaimed by critics as a second star blazing along the same trajectory.

Brave New Looks
Now in its fifth year, this exciting undertaking was initiated to provide audiences with the opportunity to discover the diversity, imagination and highly original work of cutting-edge companies and individual auteurs as they embark on a new stage in the artistic development of their project.

A Talisman Theatre Production
An equity production supported by Conseil des Arts et lettres du Québec,
Canada Council for the Arts, Heritage Canada and the Cole Foundation.

photo credit: ©Scott BeLew/Scotty B®