THEATRE

PuSh FEST Violette invites new friends to use VR to hear her story

by Charlie Smith

Joe Jack et John’s production of Violette goes beyond a simple stage show by enabling audience members to put on a VR headset to gain insights into neurodiversity. Photo by Michel St-Jean.

When Montreal-based theatre director Catherine Bourgeois decided several years ago to embark on the stage people are kind of invited by a character and come for a tea.” Only after attending a conference in Europe did it dawn upon her that Violette production of Violette, everyday women were only beginning to speak publicly about their experiences of sexual abuse. The Jian Ghomeshi scandal at CBC Radio was the catalyst back then. The Me Too movement and the accompanying stories of abuse by Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein hadn’t yet emerged.

Bourgeois, artistic director of Joe Jack et John, was keen to explore an area that spoke to her company’s mandate. Since its founding in 2003, Joe Jack et John has been a leader in promoting inclusivity on and off the stage. So it felt right for Bourgeois to try to shed light on sexual abuse within the neurodiverse community. But how could she do that with neurodiverse cast members in a way that did not turn off audiences because of the sheer horror of what the community has experienced?

“For women, it’s between 70 to 90 percent of them that will go through sexual abuse of some sort during their lifetime,” Bourgeois tells the Straight by phone from Montreal. “And for men, it’s about 50 percent. These are the stats from Quebec; I think they are meaningful. I guess they are seen as easy prey.”

She adds that with this subject matter, she didn’t feel that it would be appropriate to have someone jump on a stage and project loudly about what they had experienced. Rather, she felt that it deserved a different form.

“In the past, we’ve been doing site-specific work,” Bourgeois says. “In the beginning, it was going to be like a show in an apartment—a show in a small place—where could be offered to individual audience members with the help of virtual reality. At this year’s PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, it’s being presented this way at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre. A neurodiverse actor (Stephanie Boghen in English and Anne Tremblay in French) plays Violette and will invite individuals into a set at the Roundhouse that looks like a bedroom. Violette makes a connection with her guest by asking a couple of questions before the guest sits on the bed and puts on the VR headset. That’s when the filmed version reveals Violette sharing her story without the guest witnessing any disturbing imagery. The VR segment also features a shapeshifting trickster character played by Tamara Brown in both the French and English versions. Ultimately, Bourgeois says, it’s a story of Violette’s resilience. “Because her trauma made her feel less inclined to go out in the street, that’s why she’s inviting what she calls a ‘brand new friend’ to come and listen to her story so she can go past the trauma and be free again,” Bourgeois explains. “So there’s this sharing of this story, but, as well, the main goal is that Violette gets better because she talks about it.” g

With support from Théâtre la Seizième, Reel Wheels Theatre, and the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre, the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival is presenting Joe Jack et John’s Violette in French and English at the Roundhouse from January 26 to January 30.

JAN

21–23

Beethoven’s

Eroica*

Fri, Sat, 8pm | Orpheum Sun, 2pm | Orpheum THIS WEEKEND!

Beethoven’s heroic and revolutionary symphony is paired with Sri Lankan-Canadian composer Dinuk Wijerante’s Polyphonic Lively. Plus VSO Principal Flute Christie Reside is featured in Swiss composer Frank Martin’s haunting Ballade.

Christie Reside

Hear it. Feel it.

Charles Richard-Hamelin

Andrew Crust

JAN

28/29

Chopin, Fauré

& Bologne*

Fri, Sat, 8pm | Orpheum

This (almost) all French concert features award-winning Canadian Chopin specialist Charles Richard-Hamelin in a ravishing program led by Maestro Tausk.

FEB

Debussy, Satie & Tan Dun

4/6

Fri, 7pm | Orpheum Sun, 2pm | Orpheum

Discover the colour of music with master French composer/orchestrator Debussy, the playful Erik Satie, and renowned Chinese composer Tan Dun.

FEB

11/12

Paul Shaffer Live!

Fri, Sat, 8pm | Orpheum

Paul Shaffer Paul Shaffer, former music director to David Letterman, shares symphonic renditions of his favourite pop, R&B, and jazz tunes plus anecdotes and reminiscences from a remarkable career.

*Note: Large symphonic pieces require more musicians on stage. To keep the musicians safe and provide increased physical distancing on stage, the VSO has changed the programming of its Jan 21–23 and Jan 28–29 concerts.

VancouverSymphony.ca 604.876.3434

JAN 21, 22 MASTERWORKS GOLD SERIES SPONSOR JAN 23 & FEB 6 SYMPHONY SUNDAYS SERIES SPONSOR

JAN 28, 29, MASTERWORKS DIAMOND SERIES SPONSOR FEB 11, 12 VSO POPS SERIES SPONSOR

BROADCAST MEDIA PARTNERS MEDIA SPONSOR

Concerts presented at 50% capacity, in adherence with Provincial Health Orders