Anthology of Québec Women's Plays in English Translation, Volume III (1997-2009) (review)

For a third and highly successful time, Louise H. Forsyth, in producing Anthology of Québec Women's Plays in English Translation, Volume III (1997-2009), has assembled a collection of ten plays written by Quebecois women. The series of anthologies begins with the period when Quebecois women started writing for theater in substantial numbers (volume I: 1966-1986) and continues as the numbers of Quebecois female playwrights increased (volume II: 1987-2003) and progresses up until the present day (volume III: 1997-2009). From one volume to the next, the number of years that are represented decreases (volume 1 covers a twenty-year span; volume II, a sixteen-year span; and volume III, a twelve-year span), a clear demonstration of the number of Quebecois women giving voice to their opinions during an especially rich time in Quebecois history.

It is important to note that this is the first time that a compilation, in either French or English, of this magnitude of Québec women's plays has been achieved. In "Writing a Québec Theatre Corpus into Existence," the forward to the third volume, Forsyth accurately and poetically states in her dedication: "Through their vision, talent, and determination, these wonderful writers have paid their own homage to the women who came before them and who had the guts to create and act for theatre, even when the forces of darkness were pressuring them to remain silent. Now, there are several playwrights who have created a major oeuvre; their careers are exemplary; they are models and inspiration for the many younger playwrights who have the courage, like them, to choose to be theatre artists."

Particularly helpful to those new to Québec women's plays are the introductions that provide historical content and a concise synopsis of each play as well as the biographical and bibliographical information on each playwright. The first of ten plays included, Catch a Tiger by Nathalie Boisvert (1995) is a somber play that focuses on destructive human relations that result in domestic violence, followed by Earthbound by Carole Fréchette (2002), a forceful look into the search for meaning in life. When Books Come Tumbling Down by Marie-Ève Gagnon (2002) depicts an average middle-class family in a time of crisis, whereas Public Disorder by Evelyne de la Chenelière (2006) follows an unemployed actor who, while using public transportation, acquires the unshaken ability to partake of the unspoken thoughts and feelings of his fellow passengers. Chinese Portrait of an Imposter by Dominick Parenteau-Lebeuf (2003) is a play that was commissioned before the horrible events of September 11, 2001. Rock, Paper, Jackknife... by Marilyn Perreault (2004) sensitively portrays the life of teens who are victims of forced emigration when their country of origin crumbles under the stress of violence. Jouliks by Marie-Christine Lê-Huu (2005) explores the vicissitudes of love by dramatizing a few days in the life of a family: grandparents, parents, child, and a neighbor. My Mother Dog by Louise Bombardier (2005) recounts the final thirty-six hours in the life of a seventy-year Gisèle's Wedding Dress old woman suffering from cancer, whereas by Julie Vincent (2004) is a celebration of the life of one of Québec's most admired actors, Gisèle Schmidt. Finally, The Sound of Cracking Bones by Suzanne Lebeau (2009) is a fictionalized account of child soldiers.

The beauty of this exceptional collection lies not only in the creative talents of the playwrights but also in that of the translators who have striven to render the style of the original playwrights as faithfully as possible. Knowing the many intricacies of the art of translation but not having immediate access to the ten plays in the original French, I must therefore rely on the credit given to the translators by Forsyth in her acknowledgements: "As many have said...