The Classical Tradition in Contemporary Québécois Theatre: Patterns of Ambivalence

The Classical Tradition in Contemporary Quebecois Theatre: Patterns of Ambivalence RENATE USMIANI In its oft-repeated attempt to achieve both "identity" and "liberation," the quebecois theatre of the sixties and seventies has turned aggressively, vociferously anti-classical. Although definitions vary as to what exactly constitutes the "classical tradition," and its ever-lurking threat of colonial dependency, one might state in general terms that the anti-classical rebellion is directed, first and foremost, at the French classics, immediate roots of the French Canadian cultural colonial tradition; by extension, it includes the entire tradition of "classical" Western theatre, from the Greeks to the twentieth century, as well as the contemporary "Establishment" theatre. This rejection was eloquently illustrated by Jean-Claude Germain' in his 1969 production, Les Enfants de Chenier dans un grand spectacle d' adieu. A creation collective, master-minded by Germain himself, .the play used the image of the boxing-arena in its attempt to bring home to its audience, as forcefully as possible, the need for a final and total cutting of the ties that still bound Quebec to the cultural "homeland." By need as well as design, the production followed the principles of"poor theatre" according to Grotowski: an empty stage (perhaps symbolizing the near-vacuum of the quebi!cois theatre scene), four simple stools for props, and a clear-cut alignment of the participants: to the left of the stage, les Enfants de Chenier, ready for battle; to the right, the defending champions of French classical drama. "L'entralneur des champions: absent ou decede.... Le 'coach' des Enfants de Chenier: J.-c. Gennainl"2 The fIrst round sees Marivaux, representing the French team, knocked out quickly. Following this defeat, however, there arises a formidable adversary: the great Jean-Baptiste Poquelin himself prepares to enter the lists. This event causes much excitement in the quebecois camp, with a veritable battle ensuing over who shall gain the singular honour of defeating the great Moliere - for defeat him they shall, of that there is no doubt. And so indeed it happens. An interlude follows upon this victory, during which a series of Contemporary Quebecois Theatre well-known scenes from the classical French repertoire are held up to ridicule. Following this intermission, Germain's team takes on a succession of world-weight classical champions, from Aeschylus through Racine, Corneille, Shakespeare to Anouilh and similar undesirables of the twentieth century. At the end of the production, les Enfants de Chenier triumphantly occupy the entire stage, which has been thus physically and symbolically cleared of all the irrelevant and embarrassing relics of the past. In spite of such a finnly anti-classical view held by the "new" quebricois theatre, traditional repertoires remained firmly entrenched, both in the heavily state-subsidized "Establishment" theatres (where Moliere is a perannual favourite) and within the educational system ofthe province - at least, until the educational refonn of the sixties which brought to an end the old system of the French-style "Iyc"e c1assique." Younger playwrights look back in anger upon the kind of education in drama which they received, for they feel cheated of their rightful heritage: "Etudiants, nous avons vu un theatre qui n'etait pas Ie notre, un theatre qui nous dechirait anous faire regretter que nous n'etions pas en France ... loin de notre milieu, qui, lui, n'avail pas fait ses humanites."3 In a similar vein, Marc Dare, recently appointed to the post of director of the Conservatory of Dramatic Art of Quebec, explains why he turned to improvisation, and collective creation, rather than the traditional writer/director /actor fonnula, when he first started working in the theatre: "Au cours classique, on nOllS a soumis a une intimidation intellectuelle tres forte. Racine, Comeille, les chefs d'oeuvre! PersanDe De pourraitjamais rien ecrire de mieux, oi les egaliser. On nous a enleve I'envie de faire quai que ce soit."4 Interestingly enough, the same Marc Dare feels that by 1979, the need for the anti-literary revolution ofhis youth no longer exists, and that the time has come for quebricois theatre to return to a more traditional approach. Meanwhile, however, theatre managers who do cling to a more traditional repertoire are still roundly...