The play explores the impact of the Quebec sovereignty movement on 5 fictional Montrealers. We see how it transforms their careers and relationships over a 20 year period, beginning with the election of the first Parti Québécois government in 1976, and concluding with the second referendum on sovereignty in 1995.
Character list:
Mature Gilles: about 65, the narrator at the beginning of each act.
Casting note 1: Young and mature Gilles could be played by the same actor, using makeup, clothing change and props as needed. This will establish Gilles as a participant in the story he’s telling.
M. Tessier: mid-to-late 50's, owner of the architectural firm where Steve and Gilles work
Casting note 2: At the play’s beginning, the following range from mid 20s to early 30s. By the final scenes, they have aged about 20 years.
Bernard: francophone, mid 20s, brash, confrontational
Gilles: francophone, late 20’s, impressionable, friend to Bernard and Steve
Michelle: francophone, early mid 20’s, friendly and easygoing, sympathetic to the idea of separation, but not as dedicated to it as Bernard and Gilles
Renée: francophone, mid 20’s,bright, ambitious, worldly, independent , unconvinced by arguments in favour of separation
Steve: anglophone, mid- 30s, talented professional man, opposed in principle to separation, but sympathetic to the notion of francophone rights in Canada, friend and colleague of Gilles.
First produced by Theatre Wakefield, Wakefield, QC, November 2019