New Translation Commission – Arts Across Canada
Bouche Theatre Collective
NEW TRANSLATION COMMISSION
Après t’avoir bored tendrement je meurs
By Stéphanie Labbé
Translated to English by Johanna Nutter
Translated from “Après t’avoir bored tendrement je meurs”
Léo, 16, got into a fight at school. At the emergency room, his mother finds him with an injured wrist. The other boy is in a coma. What happened? Why this sudden violence? While awaiting a medical verdict that could turn everything upside down, Fanny and her son find themselves trapped in a closed-door situation rife with doubts and misunderstandings. Between what is said, what is left unsaid, and what we refuse to admit, a chasm widens. Delving into the intimacy of a mother-son confrontation, the playwright examines adolescent distress through the prism of the parent-child bond. The play explores with uncomfotable accuracy and intensity the sensitive realms of parental love, where wounds are sometimes passed on despite ourselves.
“Tensions, unsaid words, and infinite love.”— Le Devoir
“A text as taut as a wire, where every silence becomes a battleground.”— Théâtre La Bête Humaine / Dramaturges Éditeurs
“A hard-hitting text, taut all the way through like a violin string.”— La Presse
Après t’avoir bored tendrement je meurs
Une création du Théâtre La Bête Humaine
et du Théâtre P.A.F. en codiffusion avec
le Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui 2025
Photos de Valérie Remise
GALLERY
“Après t’avoir bored tendrement je meurs”
Une création du Théâtre La Bête Humaine et du Théâtre P.A.F.
en codiffusion avec le Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui 2025
Photos de Valérie Remise
MEET THE TEAM
Playwright: Stéphanie Labbé
A graduate of the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Montréal, the Université de Montréal in communication, L’inis, and the École nationale de l’humour in screenwriting, Stéphanie performs in theater, on television, and in film. Her writing for the stage include “Il faudra bien qu’un jour”, presented at Théâtre La Licorne in 2018 and at Théâtre Duceppe in 2019. Her play “Et puis par la fenêtre nous pourrons voir les champs” earned a special mention at the Gratien-Gélinas Awards (Théâtre du Bic 2023, Théâtre La Bordée 2024). She also works as a screenwriter on several television projects, notably Rouge forêt on Télé-Québec. In 2025, her new works “La faune locale” was presented at Duceppe (Montreal), and “Après t’avoir bordé tendrement, je meurs” at Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui (Montreal).
Translator: Johanna Nutter
Johanna Nutter is an award-winning theatre artist, translator, and teacher recognized for bridging artistic communities. Her plays, notably my pregnant brother/my playwright sister, have toured in both English and French across Canada and internationally, from Centaur Theatre in her hometown of Tiohtià:ke (Montreal), to the Soho in London, UK. Recent collaborators include Sobey-winning artist Nadia Myre, the Canadian Centre for Architecture, and her alma mater, Concordia University. Her work is rooted in the belief that storytelling is a communal act—one that fosters connection, empathy, and a deeper sensing of the relationships between our individual and collective experiences. Two-time recipient of the Cole Foundation & Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal Translator Award, she has translated works by Nathalie Boisvert, Emmanuelle Jimenez, Florence Longpré, and Michel Tremblay Award winner Annick Lefebvre.
About Bouche Theatre Collective
Speak beyond distanc, language and culture.
Bouche Theatre Collective (BTC) is a Vancouver-based artistic collective co-founded in 2012 by France Perras and Jack Paterson. We are uniquely dedicated to the development, production, and presentation of multi-language works, cross-disciplinary arts, and creative translation. With creative producers Jack Paterson & Hannah Siden, our mission is to showcase daring contemporary international and national practices by bridging creators separated by distance, language, and culture in an inclusive, equitable, and sustainable practice.
About Creative Translation
Professionally as “Creative Translation.”, Translation in theatre, rather than a word-for-word substitution, the source text is a point of reference to create an equally compelling work in the new language.
With many choices beyond words, the creative translator draws on a wide knowledge of the performing arts and a deep understanding of the target culture. In addition to new rhythms, poetic structures, and metaphors, it’s not uncommon for new scenes, scenarios, and text to be created. It is a uniquely collaborative art; one where the collaborators are the cultures and languages of the original and target population as embodied by the artists involved.
Our Creative Translation team is gathered from leading theatre makers in both official languages from across the nation.
PRODUCTION TEAM
Creative Producers: Jack Paterson & Hannah Siden
We gratefully ackowledge the support of:
