Upintheair Theatre Presents
The Creatus Project & Bouche Theatre Collective
In association with
Western Gold Theatre & Presentation House Theatre

THE BALLAD OF GEORGES BOIVIN

Written by Martin Bellemare
Translated by Jack Paterson with Johanna Nutter
Directed by Jack Paterson*
Featuring Allan Morgan* as Georges
www.creatus.ca

rEvolver Festival
Saturday May 25 @ 3:30 pm & Talkback with Dr. Julia Henderson
Sunday May 26 @ 3:30 pm & Talkback with the artists
The Cultch (1895 Venables Street, Vancouver BC V5L 2H6)
rEvolver Festival: www.upintheairtheatre.com
Tickets: Click here to purchase tickets

At 77, Georges Boivin “gives the dice a roll”. Georges just lost his wife, you see, the “centre of his universe”. But there is life after 70 and it must continue even after great loss. With his three friends, all older than he, he sets out on road trip from Québec to Vancouver, in search of a first love whom he hasn’t seen in 50 years. A play about love in all it’s various forms.

John Innes in The Ballad of Georges Boivin (PAL Studio Theatre, 2021)

Jay Brazeau in The Ballad of Georges Boivin (PAL Studio Theatre, 2021)

Press

“…explores with great insight thematic territory I’ve never seen covered before…the execution is poetic and the insight genuine…an intimate — and rewarding — conversation about love.” – Colin Thomas, colinthomas.ca

“…insightful, thoughtful and mind-expanding…This is a beautiful play, filled with hope and longing and the realization that yes, there is life and love well into our golden years!” – EntertainmentVancouver.com

“…a heart-warming play that shakes off the myth often associated with old age.” – Reviewvancouver.com

AWARDS & NOMINATIONS

Jessie Richardson Awards & Nominations:

Outstanding Direction – Small Theatre: Jack Paterson
Outstanding Design (Media) – Small Theatre: Joel Grinke & Vanka Salim
Outstanding Set Design – Small Theatre: Glenn Macdonald

CREATIVE & PRODUCTION TEAM

* This is a Canadian Actors’ Equity Association production under the Festival Policy. rEvolver Festival is an approved festival under Canadian Actors’ Equity Association’s Festival Policy.

This translation was commissioned by Western Gold Theatre (Vancouver) and developed by Bouche Theatre Collective (Vancouver) in association with British Equity (London UK) and Western Gold Theatre. The English Language Premiere was produced by Western Gold Theatre (PAL Vancouver Theatre, 2021) featuring Jay Brazeau and John Innes as Georges. We gratefully acknowledge the support of Canada Council for the Arts.

GALLERY

Jay Brazeau and John Innes in The Ballad of Georges Boivin
(Western Gold Theatre @ PAL Studio Theatre, 2021)

Performer: Allan Morgan
Allan (he, him) has been a professional actor for almost 40 years. He has performed in most theatres in Vancouver, as well as appearing in theatres in most major Canadian cities, he has crossed the country several times with different shows, and indeed internationally in San Francisco, London GB, Bergen Norway, and Wellington NZ. His work has garnered more than 8 nominations, and 5 awards for various roles. He has also written and performed two solo shows to enthusiastic crowds. He is a drama adjudicator, and currently an artist in residence here at 8th on 8. He initiated a writing group for queer elders in order to tell the stories of growing up in extreme homophobia called “Sing Me a Song No one Sang for You” as well as a writing group on hindsight. He’s an avid bike rider and loves photographing and sharing his love of flowers daily.

Playwright: Martin Bellemare
Martin Bellemare (il) is a Montreal playwright most noted for his plays Le chant de Georges Boivin, which won the Prix Gratien-Gélinas (2009), and Cœur minéral, which won the Governor General’s Award for French-language drama (2020). A graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, his work has been produced in Quebec, France, Poland and Switzerland and translated into German, Italian and Lithuanian.

MAy 25 Talkback with:
Julia Henderson, PhD – Creative Accessibilities Facilitator
Julia Henderson (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of British Columbia. She is a registered occupational therapist, holds a PhD in Theatre (UBC), and a Diploma in acting (Circle in the Square). Her research explores how theatre and performance practices contribute to cultural constructions of aging and old(er) age. Henderson’s research on dramaturgies of aging offers insights on how dramatic structure, design, staging, performance style, and marketing might influence understandings of age. Henderson’s writings on age and theatre are published in Theatre Research in Canada, The Journal of American Drama and Theatre, The Thornton Wilder Journal, Canadian Theatre Review, and Age, Culture, Humanities: An Interdisciplinary Journal. Julia is also Creative Accessibilities Facilitator with Western Gold Theatre.

Creating senior artist access supertitles

TRANSLATOR/ DIRECTOR’S NOTES

Francophone playwrighting is a uniquely Canadian form. Born from different circumstances and cultural needs, there is nothing quite like it in Western English Language practice. The poetic, abstract and expressionistic live side by side with gritty realism and the mundane often becomes the fantastical.

It is no secret that older artists might face age-related physical and cognitive changes. However, far greater impediments to their successful participation in the arts are the social stigmas of ageism and ableism. No matter what their age or their physical or mental abilities maybe, older artists can and must have their place in the arts respected and supported.

On this project, we explored forms and aesthetics specifically from tools to support Senior artists and in performance in festival touring. We asked “what new is created when we make access integral to creation, design, rehearsal, and presentation processes?” And by doing so – draw attention to the needs of our ageing population in an intergenerational conversation and illuminate the experience of seniors’ day to day living.

A great joy of developing this translation was bringing artists together across cultural, lingual, and physical distances in an intergenerational creative conversation. It would not have been possible without the generosity of playwright Martin Bellemare, insight of translation dramaturg Johanna Nutter, and the input by remarkable senior artists Paul Beckett, Jay Brazeau, Micheal Grinter, Allan Morgan, John Innes, and Charles Roe.

2021 | English Language Premiere

Produced by Western Gold Theatre
In association with Bouche Theatre Collective
Feauring Jay Brazeau and John Innes alternating as Georges Boivin in repertory

November 10 – 28, 2021
PAL STUDIO THEATRE – 581 CARDERO STREET, VANCOUVER
www.westerngoldtheatre.org

CREATIVE & PRODUCTION TEAM

SPECIAL THANK YOU TO:

Western Gold Theatre, Presentation House Theatre, UpintheairTheatre, the rEvolver Festival and The Cultch teams, & Supertitles.gr