RIVER BED (FAIRE DES ENFANTS)
By Eric Noel | Translated by Jordan Arseneault
with British Equity WSW London Branch (London, UK)
Special thanks to actors Michèle Belgrand, Ryan Grossett, Will Lewis, Louis Pieris, Dannie Pye, Nicole Wood and the always wonderful Lola May for her organizing.
SYNOPSIS:
Written in two acts – “Philadelphie” and “Assomption”– the play is a diptych of Montreal 20something rebellion and a gothic family drama that will be familiar to anyone who has ever tried to leave their suburban home forever.
Philippe is 24 years old, he refuses to be loved. He is self destructing, burning for the dark light: drugs, sex, alcohol, prostitution. One Sunday, very early in the morning, he and his mother wake up at the same time. He’s in the middle of a bad trip, in a strange bed, between two people he doesn’t know; she has nightmares, alone in her house of Assumption. He senses she’s trying to warn him; she senses something terrible has happened.
PRODUCTION HISTORY:
Faire des enfants is a visceral and poetic text combining naturalism, surrealism in a blend of lush and gritty language. Receiving the le Prix Gratien-Gélinas in 2010, it was followed by a successful month-long run at Montreal’s prestigious Quat’sous theatre the next year, receiving critical acclaim for its uncanny depiction of grief and strong dialogue. It was immediately translated into German by Frank Weigand under the title Kinder machen and was presented at a series of stage readings. In 2012 it was published by Theater der Zeit.
“The 25-year-old author has brought us a dark and luminous text, a precursor to a beautiful work to come…With a talent and urgency to say that shakes the viewer from his first lines, Fair des enfants touches us right to the heart…At first, we think of Brad Fraser’s plays, wondering where all this sex will lead us. Then there are other characters: Philip’s best friend, mother, father and sister [the main character]. Fair des enfants then transcends the description of an environment to fly to another universe. And touch the universal. The work exposes an essential truth: the quest for love. Philip considers himself unworthy of affection; his quest thus turns into an enterprise of self-destruction. He plunges into tragedy. Pure and sublime.”
– Luc Boulanger, Le Devoir, March 11, 2010
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT:
Eric Noel
Eric Noel is a Quebecois playwright and 2009 graduated of Canada’s National Theatre School French language writing program. He is the author of three contemporary plays in Faire des enfants (2009), Tirade pour Henri (2010) et Ces regards amoureux de garçons altérés (2015). He is also the author of a libretto for an opera by Vincent-Olivier Gagnon, Sans électricité, les oiseaux disparaissent (2009), and the children’s theatre piece La Mère, le Père, le Petit et le Grand (2021). In 2018, he adapted Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince for Theatre La Roulotte with “Asteroid B 612” (2021).
ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR:
Jordan Arseneault
Jordan Arseneault (b. New Brunswick, 1980) is a critic, drag performer, social artist, meeting facilitator and translator. His staged work and participative workshops address issues of criminalization, stigma, mental health, HIV/AIDS, addiction, biculturalism, queerness and community. Former editor of Quebec’s only English language monthly for the LGBT community, 2Bmag (2010-2013), his reviews and articles have been published in Maisonneuve, Nightlife.ca, Forget the Box. He currently lives in Montreal.
