Mysterious and Extraordinary
By Martin Bellemare | Translated by Jack Paterson
Translated from EXTRAORDINAIRE ET MYSTERIEUX (Quebec, Canada)
For ages 8 and up
Inspired by the true-life stories of James Leininger and the Pollock sisters, after a traumatic tragey John and Flo’s daughters have strange memories. Where do memories come from and how do they work?
The play was commissioned and produced by Nouveau Theare du Huitième, Festival En Acte(s).
Cast size: 3F/2M
Running Time: 40 minutes
“Martin Bellemare’s marvelous and relevant text…will amaze both children and adults with a story on the frontiers of reality… provides definitive proof of the indispensable need for the festival (En Acte(s) à Lyon) and its essential mission of dramatic creation.”
– David Rofé-Sarfati, Toute la culture
Translation commissioned by The Presentation House Theatre.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT: MARTIN BELLEMARE
Martin Bellemare is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada French Language Playwrighting department. He is the recipient of the Prix Gratien-Gélinas for Le Chant de Georges Boivin (Dramaturges Publishers, 2011). Chant was produced in Quebec, across Canada and France. He received the NTC’s Creation Award for La Liberté (2012) and Moule Robert (2017). La Liberté was selected Le Bureau des Lecteurs de la Comédie-Française (Dramaturges Publishers, 2013). In 2018, he received the Prix SACD de la dramaturgie francophone for Maître Karim la perdrix and the Prix Michel-Tremblay for Moule Robert.
His work for young audiences is published by Lansman. He is one of the writers of Théâtre Ébouriffé’s Cabaret au Bazaar, for whom he wrote Un Château sur le dos. Other works for youth include La Chute de l’escargot and Tuer le moustique. These have been presented in Montréal, Paris and Poznan (Poland). Des pieds et des mains was created at Centre National des Arts (Ottawa) in 2016, and presented at Tarmac (Paris) in 2017.
He has been writer in residence at Théâtre de l’Aquarium (Cartoucherie/ Paris), La Chartreuse, Centre National des Écritures du Spectacle (Villeneuve-lès Avignon), La Maison des Auteurs (Limoges), the Domaine de Mariemont (CED-WB/Wallonie), Théâtre du Bic (Québec). He participated in an international residency for theatre for young audiences (CEAD, Consulate General of France in Quebec City, CNT, La Belle Saison) where he put the final touches on Le Cri de la giraffe and L’oreille de mer (Lansman, 2017).
His work has been produced in Quebec, France, and Switzerland and translated into German, Italian and Lithuanian.