Dear Friends, of Pleiades, of theatre, of the arts, of life:

In 1971, a Toronto boy still wet behind the ears, I was launching le Théâtre du P’tit Bonheur, later the Théâtre français de Toronto. As luck would have it, I was sent off to Sherbrooke to take part in a big showcase for the performing arts in Québec. Anyone who had a show to sell, a band to promote, a song to sing or a story to tell was there and the rest of us got to watch. It was there that I discovered Michel Tremblay (the play was Forever Yours, Marie-Lou), Robert Charlebois, le Théâtre du Rideau Vert, Claude Léveillée, Dominique Michel, André Gagnon. Indeed, there seemed to be a host of astonishing artists from French Canada.

Among them was this very idiosyncratic Acadian actress, Viola Léger, doing a spell-binding performance of the most unlikely character imaginable, la Sagouine. From the get-go, Viola had the entire audience in the palm of her hand and I have never forgotten her, how she came on stage in her rubber boots and frumpy old clothes, her banged-up wooden bucket and mop, and how she got down on all fours to start scrubbing the worn linoleum. Not long after that, La Sagouine was embarked on a astonishing career: hundreds of performances in Montréal and throughout the Province of Québec; at the newly minted National Arts Centre in Ottawa; command performances before visiting dignitaries; the celebrated French director, Jean-Louis Barrault (who starred in Les Enfants du Paradis) invited the show to Paris where it played to packed houses. Here was a brand new play from a remote corner of Canada in which the character was speaking real, live 17th century French. And it was her natural language! In 1979, La Sagouine was translated into English and Viola, who is perfectly bilingual, learned the play in her second language, thus beginning its parallel life in Canada’s other official language.

Although she has gone on to do all manner of parts, in both English and French, la Sagouine is Viola Léger’s signature role. When I asked her how many performances she’d done, she told me she stopped counting after 2000! Now, as she approaches her four-score years, she is certainly the age of the character, although I must say that both seem absolutely timeless.

La Sagouine, a real person who died in the mid-sixties, and her author, Antonine Maillet, both hail from Bouctouche, New Brunswick, a little Acadian fishing village about forty minutes north of Moncton. Since 1971, the character, the author and the actor have become so deeply engrained in the lives of modern Acadians that, fifteen years ago, a theme park was built in Bouctouche in celebration of them all. There, at “Le Pays de la Sagouine,” Viola performs every summer to some 85,000 people, many of whom travel hundreds of miles to see her. This is, by any measure, astounding.

In 2001, then Prime Minister Jean Chrétien appointed Viola as the first woman artist to sit in the Senate. She worked tirelessly there until her mandatory retirement, at age 75, in 2005. Then, she went straight back to the stage, where she swears she will end her days… but not till she’s 130. This woman is remarkable and especially in this unique, iconic, quintessential Canadian play, one has to add: what an actor!

Because we believe in our work, we are always saying things like “not to be missed” and we always hope that it’s true. In this case, knowing that time is not on our side and that Viola may not be coming this way again soon, seeing her in La Sagouine may just be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So I urge you to get out your calendars and book those tickets today!

John Van Burek, Artistic Director

Found in Translation

Thanks to a generous grant from the George Cedric Metcalf Foundation, we have launched a new unit for writers who are interested in translation for the theatre. Found in Translation is designed to give writers an opportunity to hone their skills in this very specific art form. This is an excellent tool for writers and many of the world's best authors have used translation in order to unlock the secrets of a fellow-writer's power with the pen. Artistic Director John Van Burek learned a great deal about playwriting and about what makes dialogue work by translating Michel Tremblay, Marivaux, Goldoni and Molière. Taking a great play from one language to another tells a writer how much (or how little) needs to be said and how much can be understood. And, as those who know us are aware, translation is Pleiades' middle name. Our purpose is to bring you great plays from around the world, plays that are often inaccessible because they weren't written in English, and to present them in new, vibrant, contemporary Canadian translations. Toronto is teeming with cultural ambassadors from every corner of the globe and we want to provide a window onto those worlds. Presently, we are working Lascelle Wingate and playwright David Copelin, on a wonderful German play from 1910. We also have a young Greco-Canadian actor and writer exploring a twentieth century Greek domestic comedy that has never been done in English. In addition, we have several projects on the boil, including a new play for young audiences from Québec, a play from Mexico and a scintillating, deliciously naughty French comedy from the 1920's.

There are many great plays out there, just waiting for Toronto to open its doors. We want to give playwrights the opportunity to bring them to life for us today, thereby honing their skills as writers and expanding our contact with the world through theatre. As Pleiades continues to grow, Found in Translation will become an integral part of our development. For more information please call Andrey Tarasuik at (416) 203-1227.

Andrey Tarasiuk, our new Producer

We are very excited to tell you that Andrey Tarasiuk has taken on the role of Producer for Pleiades Theatre. Andrey brings a wealth of experience to the company, having spent some thirty years working in theatre in this country. Andrey took the Moscow Circus on tour, he developed and inaugurated the Dream in High Park, he worked closely with the great Bill Glassco in the early years of Tarragon Theatre and again at Canadian Stage, and he was the Artistic Director and Producer at Theatre Direct Canada, a company devoted to plays for adolescents. From there he went on to become the Associate Artistic Director of the Stratford Festival of Canada. Andrey is one of the most respected and knowledgeable theatre arts practitioners in Canada; how lucky we are to have him with us at Pleiades.

We hope you will drop by to visit us and our team if you are ever in the Distillery District! And we know you will be excited with the fabulous year to come!