A recent invitation to a rehearsal reading of Talisman Theatre’s production of Rock, Paper, Jackknife … by Marilyn Perreault (translated by Nadine Desrochers) led to a productive meeting with the cast and crew. I emerged from the experience awed and thoughtful, trying to pick through the layers of allegory and implication, and analyzing the curious rehearsal process.
Talisman productions are usually dark and layered and this year’s is no exception. Rock, Paper, Jackknife …, opening tonight at Centaur Theatre, begins when young refugee stowaways, traumatized by being trapped in a dark shipping container for a month, are unceremoniously dumped on an icy shore by a remote northern mining community. Not speaking the local language, they are again rejected and given into the care of an alcoholic nurse.
Perreault’s inspiration for Rock, Paper, Jackknife … came from the recent spate of school shootings and from her experience living and working in a remote northern community. The play focuses on the motivations behind rape, addiction and suicide. It opens and closes with a scene as bleak as any in Wuthering Heights: bloody bedclothes, something banging in a howling wind, a phrase repeated by a disembodied voice …
Talisman Theatre has to be one of the edgiest new companies in Montreal. They have the courage to push the boundaries and take the risks that most other Montreal-based English language companies would steer away from. In part this is due to Talisman’s unusual mandate: to stage English prèmieres of plays by Québecois playwrights, but, in addition, they look for controversial plays with intercultural significance.
Desrochers’ stunning translation of Perreault’s Roche, Papier, Couteau … is directed by Emma Tibaldo and has been selected by the Centaur Theatre Company to be part of this season’s Brave New Looks. Working with a bilingual cast and crew, Tibaldo uses what she calls a “hybrid development process” whereby any member of the cast and crew can intervene in a democratic process of artistic development.
Lyne Paquette, Talisman’s multi-talented Artistic Director, can only be described as “driven”. Paquette is also the Set Designer for all Talisman productions. Her sets are generally minimalist and abstract, but this year she has opted for a coldly concrete construction symbolic of the explosive forces at work in the play. Lit by Ninacs, with sound by Leon, and costumes by Lanyi, this promises to be a feast for the senses.
As further proof of its social commitment, this year Talisman has teamed up with the Cole Foundation and CBC Radio One to put on a free roundtable “intercultural conversation” on the themes raised by the play. Eight experts in teen violence and youth in northern communities will be lead by Nancy Wood, the new host of CBC Radio One’s Daybreak. The RSVP event will take place on the set on Saturday, October 10, at 3:30.
Talisman Theatre’s production of Rock, Paper, Jackknife … runs at Centaur through October 17. To reserve a place for the roundtable: RSVP to: roundtable@talisman-theatre.com
Photo Credit: Talisman Theatre
Chris Dilworth is a PhD Candidate in Études anglaises at the Université de Montréal.
