WARNING : Given the dark and repugnant nature of the microscopic tragedies, spectators under the age of 13 might have to be tested and sometimes denied admission. However, patient souls with a questionable sense of humour are most welcome.
 

Le frère de la sangsue
Le frère de la sangsue is the fruit of an artistic collaboration between Stéfan Boucher and Olivier Tardif. Although they have different backgrounds — Boucher studied music at McGill University while Tardif studied theatre at UQÀM — they both share an interest in the worlds of writers like Lautréamont, Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe. They were both hired as actors and writers for dinner theatre shows at the Haunted House in Montreal where they explored “ provoking and interacting with the audience ”. They then moved on to “ nvisible theatre ” events at the Montreal main library, a number of Montreal cafés and bars, a cemetery in St. Léonard, and at locations in the U.S. From 1998 to 1999, they embarked on a more formal exploration of theatrical expression with Cabaret Satyricon, working alongside artists such as Zoomba, Christian Vanasse and Gaétan Laporte. This led to their first microscopic tragedy, Opus 29, followed by Opus 21 (presented at the Festival International d’été de Québec in 2001), and then Opus 19, created at the same festival and a popular success at the Festival de théâtre de la rue in Shawinigan in 2002.

Tragédie microscopique, Opus 17 is the fourth “ magnetic drama ” conceived by this creative duo, who for the past decade have focussed on the clandestine, subversive art of the miniature fresco where they enjoy destabilizing the audience.

Nouvelles Scènes
In 1997, the Festival de théâtre des Amériques created the Nouvelle Scène series, whose mission four editions later remains the same — to promote young artists in order to actively contribute to the emergence of new voices in the theatre by providing them with conditions that favour their discovery and advancement. In bringing together this year a generation of multidisciplinary artists, Nouvelles Scènes 2003 reasserts the dynamism and plurality of contemporary theatre in Quebec. In choosing unusual performance sites and forms that include performance art, theatrical walkabouts and staged installations, these artists challenge the norms of theatrical representation and the role of the spectator, questioning the social and political role of art and its place in the community.