The cultural re-entry in the largest performance hall in the southwest of the island of Montreal will be under the sign of a new direction – in more than one way.
A new general and artistic director at the Desjardins theater
After the retirement of the director of the Desjardins theater, Martine Mimeault, last June, Alexandre Seers Provencher has just taken over the general and artistic direction of the theater located in LaSalle.
Photo credit: Simon Laroche
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Previously Deputy Director General and Artistic at the Société de développement culturel de Terrebonne, Mr. Provencher has a profile combining experience in cultural management with a broad expertise in communication. “With the health crisis that we have been going through for 18 months, it is really an extraordinary moment for the Desjardins theater, but I have a lot of hope and… daring proposals for the future” he confided during the first interview he gave to the press since taking office on August 2.
However, there was no question of making a 180-degree turn and changing the cultural programming altogether for the new director. The change will be smooth, by small touches. The goal is to attract people who do not usually go to the theater by offering a complementary offer that gives pride of place to new artistic disciplines but also to emerging artists.
Bring people from here to the theater to see the World!
“The team and I want to bring people to the theater to see the world” explains Mr. Provencher, when asked about his artistic vision. For the cultural dissemination professional, this means more than one thing:
- get together after months spent away from each other,
- discover a wide range of artists and disciplines,
- but also to discover what surrounds us “in its beauties, its funny facts or its reflections”.
Expect the big stage on Lapierre Street in LaSalle to invite you to reflect on today’s issues: climate, inclusion, parity and diversity through laughter, theater, song, music but also new disciplines such as storytelling.
“We are going to launch a new series for families from the start of the school year around stories specially created by storyteller Nadine Walsh for the Desjardins theater,” announces Mr. Provencher. He does not hide his desire to also make the Desjardins theater a place of creation, in particular by building partnerships with local creators or the organizers of major festivals in Montreal.
This openness to the world and to the world will also be reflected in an original school offer including a show without words in elementary school, a show that should appeal to French, English and bilingual schools.
7 new shows at the Desjardins theater on sale from August 18
Although the number of shows at the Desjardins theater is already very extensive at the start of the school year due to the many postponements caused by the pandemic, 7 new shows will be on sale from August 18:
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- The series of Tales of lost steps by Nadine Walsh offered on Sunday afternoon
- A Pierre Lapointe concert in November
- Anne-Élisabeth Bossé with Jealous, his new show
- Christmas at the Deschamps with Judi Richards and his daughters Karine and Sarah Deschamps (daughters of Yvon Deschamps)
- A reading-show by Pascale Montpetit of the book My trip to America, the autobiography of Kim Yaroshevskaya, the actress who played Franfreluche
- A New Year’s Eve concert with rock classics offered by Under Cover to end the year on a high note at the Desjardins theater
With the introduction of the vaccine passport from September 1, Alexandre Provencher and the entire Desjardins theater team are eager to welcome regulars and new spectators in complete safety.
Celebrating a live show and cultural dynamism, the start of the school year and the relaunch promise to take place under the sign of renewal in the 811-seat hall.
The photo of the Desjardins theater in LaSalle at the top of this article was taken by Karine Joly.
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