Garde-robe

A musical and theatrical show for 4 to 8 years old kids

In co-production with Boréades de Montréal

 

Springtime. Pauline hangs her sheet on the clothesline. When the wind sweeps into the sheet, Pauline grabs hold of it and then locks herself away in her closet. The wind plays the flute while Pauline plays the violin. They make music together and reinvent the four seasons, playing games with the clothes and having fun. A gust of wind brings life back to motionless objects, flips the pages of a romance novel and stirs up a storm of coats. As a result, a whole new world, sensual and exhilarating, opens up. In it, words, images and sounds call up in delicate strokes the season of childhood with all its fears and great promises.

Study Guide

A STUDY GUIDE with musical excerpts on CD is available for teachers interested in preparing children for the performance.

 

Cultural Mediation

 

Upon request, cultural mediation workshops are given in schools in the two weeks preceding a performance. This special contact with the performers and designers helps children improve their appreciation of the production.

scolaire80[SOCIÉTÉ]
La réforme scolaire, qu’est-ce que ça donne?
Tout n’a pas été dit sur la réforme scolaire, bien au contraire. Son implantation a beau se poursuivre avec de nécessaires ajustements, des voix se font entendre quant à l’ampleur des choix fondamentaux qui la portent. Cette réforme est au cœur d’un documentaire de Pierre Lefebvre et du débat qui suit : À qui profite la présente réforme scolaire du Québec?
La réforme scolaire, qu’est-ce ça donne? (00:53:4scolaire80[SOCIÉTÉ]
La réforme scolaire, qu’est-ce que ça donne?
Tout n’a pas été dit sur la réforme scolaire, bien au contraire. Son implantation a beau se poursuivre avec de nécessaires ajustements, des voix se font entendre quant à l’ampleur des choix fondamentaux qui la portent. Cette réforme est au cœur d’un documentaire de Pierre Lefebvre et du débat qui suit : À qui profite la présente réforme scolaire du Québec?
La réforme scolaire, qu’est-ce ça donne? (00:53:45)5)
photo - Garde-robe
AGE: 4 TO 8 years old
DURATION:50 min.
AUDIENCE SIZE:250 children
STAGE SIZE: 26’ x 24’ 12’ (W x P x H)
KEYWORDS: Wind, Seasons, Recorder, Violin, Clothes, Games

Credits

 

Performers

 

  • Francis Colpron: as the wind, playing recorders, flute, glass harmonica and percussions
  • Marie-Hélène da Silva: as Pauline and Paulette, playing the violin, voice, ocarina and sound effects

A word from the playwright

 

This is where clothes are stored, but also objects that are more or less forgotten as well as happy or unwanted memories. This space is filled with signs and bears witness to one’s growth, seasons and passions. Such is the closet.

In our production, the closet becomes a personal forest that symbolizes childhood: a solitary space inhabitated by images, words, sounds, smells, fears and wishes. To tell the tale, a story without a plot or an end was needed, like the four seasons, a story so simple that you would need considerable artfulness and innocence to breathe life into it. What was needed is the generosity and sensitivity of two performers, Francis and Marie-Hélène. Together, we have woven this show by hand, adding in images and sounds that answer each other using the innocence of games.

Joël da Silva

Click on the thumbnails to zoom.

Photo: Claudine Larocque

Reviews

In fact, Garde-robe is a total surprise, a continuous one at that. Very focused on music — one would expect it with the two companies that have worked together to create the show — this fascinating production is a kind of experimental theatre for children (…) the show keeps moving into surprising, unexpected and imaginative directions »

Michel Bélair, Le Devoir, 16/02/2008

There are two of them on stage: her and the wind. Her is Pauline, convincingly played by Marie-Hélène da Silva. The wind is symbolized by the flute, played by Francis Colpron, who shows great talent as an actor. (…) You come out of it with your senses tingling, music running in your mind, but with a vague impression that what is left of this story is… only wind. Which maybe a lot. »

Jean Siag, La Presse, 18/02/2008

There are no upcoming performances for this production.