Alphonse

by Wajdi Mouawad
Translation by Shelley Tepperman

Performed by Dora Nominated actor Alon Nashman, Alphonse made its debut at the world-class du Maurier Theatre Centre, Toronto. Alphonse bubbles over with theatrical magic and exhilarating language as the solo performer commands the stage like a conductor, bringing the many colours of this story to life. This play’s fantastic interweaving of stories provoke reflection on the journey from childhood to adulthood, to celebrate the power of the imagination and finally to begin our own search for the missing child in all of us.

Alphonse, a remarkable boy with a huge imagination, has not come home and everyone is searching for him: his parents, his friends, his teachers, the police. Meanwhile, Alphonse is walking along a country road inventing the extraordinary adventures of Pierre-Paul René, “a gentle boy with a one-note voice who is never surprised by anything”. Led by the Narrator, we jump into a multi-layered tale that bounces back and forth between the search for Alphonse, and the fantastic quest of Pierre-Paul René. In the process we experience a powerful reflection on the joy and pain of being young and what is lost in crossing the threshold to adulthood.

“For me, there are only two things important in this world: Children, because they are the fruits of love and stories, because they are the fruits of the imagination.” Wajdi Mouawad

Born in Lebanon, raised in Egypt and then Montreal, Wajdi Mouawad’s unique cultural perspective comes through in everything he creates as a playwright, director, writer and performer. His epic work Littoral opened the Avignon Festival last season, won the Governor General Award in 2000 and has been recently translated into English. His play Pacambo toured to young audiences in Quebec, France and Belgium in 2001. Wajdi is the Artistic Director of Theatre Quat’Sous in Montreal where he is renown for his radical re-interpretations of classic Quebec and European plays as well as the creation of ground breaking new work.

“Heartpoundingly great theatre” Toronto Star

Like Michel Marc Bouchard’s A Tale of Teeka, Alphonse comes from a tradition of theatre for young people in Quebec that transcends generational boundaries.

“Mouawad’s Passion for storytelling infuses his show with comic and poetic energy. The absurd is almost sad, the delirious and the dynamic join in the dance and chase away dark thoughts”. Le Soir, Brussels