Today, was officially,
the first day of spring,
and,
it was magnificent.
This,
first day of spring,
is special,
to me,
in so many ways.
Most,
I won’t share,
the most important.
Too private,
and personal,
and,
too precious,
to share,
even with my girls:-)
But, I will write,
about my blissful,
experience at the theatre.
On Sunday afternoon,
I went to the theatre.
I never go to the theatre,
why?
I don’t know,
just never do.
I go to the movies,
not as much as I,
used to but,
I go.
To theatre,
I have been,
a hand full,
of times,
in my entire life.
Maybe,
it’s my working class,
peoples’ roots,
somewhere in my DNA,
I think,
the theatre is not,
for the likes of me:-)
I’m going to change, that attitude, never too late to grow.
So,
yesterday, I saw,
Michel Tremblay’s,
Les Belles Soeurs,
a musical version,
at the Monument National,
on St-Laurent,
the Main.
Michel Tremblay,
is Québec’s greatest playwright,
he is responsible for,
transforming our theatre,
from a faux French theatre,
to a truly modern theatre,
of us,
and by us.
Les Belles Soeurs,
which translates as the sisters in law,
is an ensemble piece,
fifteen women.
Written in 1965,
a good year for the birth of special things, people… just saying:-)
but,
staged for the first time,
1968,
it is the first play written,
in Joual.
Joual, is Québécois French, I guess you could see it as some sort of slang, I see it more as a dialect. Cockney, Yiddish, Creole, that sort of thing. A language of the people, the poor, the masses, the oppressed and disenfranchised.
Tremblay loves Joual,
for the same reason,
I do,
it is the language,
his mother,
her sisters,
and sisters in law,
spoke,
the one he heard,
sitting in the kitchen,
the one that gave birth,
to his imagination,
his pride,
to him.
Tremblay is twenty years older,
than me,
so,
with me it was,
grandmaman.
I adored my grandmother, she was smart, resourceful, tender and tough. A woman of her race and generation. She was also oppressed by her church, her society, her workers poverty. She was as important to me, as my mom and dad.
This play,
was severely,
criticised in 1968,
the elite,
were embarrassed,
by this language,
of the people,
and this depiction,
of poverty.
The elite was either,
of a mind that we were,
French or American.
We are,
were,
both,
and neither.
We are French in North America,
a modern society,
with colonial roots.
Les Belles Soeurs,
tells of the lives of women,
their struggles,
their joys.
It is funny,
and,
tender,
hard,
and sad.
It speaks of abortion,
and sexual freedom,
of child rearing
and caring for the old.
It is beautiful.
The musical version,
keeps most of the words.
The music is up tempo,
motown inspired,
I loved it.
A few times,
I looked over,
at my aunt and mom,
and I thought,
Grandmaman,
should be here,
with us,
but,
you know…
she was.
I hope I gave you a taste,
I’m not sure but,
I tried.
Later girls,
BB