Jeanne-Mance DELISLE

Jeanne-Mance Delisle is an accomplished poet, novelist and playwright. She is a native of the Abitibi region of Québec where she has played an active role in the theatre scene for many years. In 1979, her play Un «reel» ben beau, ben triste (The Reel of the Hanged Man) won the "Prix littéraire" Abitibi-Témiscamingue and in 1988, Un oiseau vivant dans la gueule (A Live Bird in Its Jaws) was awarded the Governor General’s Literary Award. An English translation for Scotland The Reel of the Hanged Man by Martin Bowman and the late Bill Findlay, premiered in Edinburg and was presented on a tour in Glasgow, Stirling, Paisley, and Lerwick, in 2000. A Live Bird in Its Jaws, an English translation of UN oiseau vivant dans la gueule by Yves St.Pierre premiered in Toronto. Another English translation, this time, for Scotland, under the title A Live Bird in the Mouth, by Martin Bowman will premiere in the course of the 2009-2010 season. – 2009-01-19
(Photo : Yves Richard)

 
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Titles in alphabetical order
A Live Bird in Its Jaws
 
A Live Bird in Its Jaws More about the publication
  English translation by Yves Saint-Pierre. Published by NuAge Editions, 1992.
  Original title: Un oiseau vivant dans la gueule (Éditions de la Pleine Lune, 1987).
Running time
  1 hour 30
Cast
  1 W, 2 M  More about the cast   More about the the suggested set
Synopsis
  This is a baroque tragedy; a story within a story that defies literal interpretation. A woman writes about hidden desires and an obsessive passion. It is a violent love story in which three aspire to solve the equation of two, with a cock fight confrontation between obscure forces.
Excerpt
  « HÉLÈNE: My dream was a warning. A big gouache painting. A pale green house, huge, with empty window frames. A deserted house. Suddenly, from behind the house, a black pig appeared. The house started to shake; the pig charged me. A live bird in its jaws. / XAVIER: The bird is a bad omen? / HÉLÈNE: It's your penis. / XAVIER: What would my penis be doing in some pig's mouth? / HÉLÈNE: The usual. »
Press review
  "The play sparks with animalistic tension and poetic language." JK, NOW Magazine, December 4, 1991

 
PLAYS AVAILABLE AT CEAD (Some notes in French may appear below)
  Singapour sling [1989]
Un oiseau vivant dans la gueule [1986] (Éditions de la Pleine Lune, 1987)
L'ivrognesse [1985] (in 20 ans, CEAD / VLB Éditeur, 1985, livre disponible au CEAD)
Un « reel » ben beau, ben triste [1976] (Éditions de la Pleine Lune, 1980; réédité en 1994)
Y est midi Pierrette [1973] (avec Un « reel » ben beau, ben triste et Florence – Geneviève – Martha, dans la première publication des Éditions de la Pleine Lune, 1980; épuisé ne fait pas partie de la réédition. Disponible pour prêt)
Florence – Geneviève – Martha [1971 et 1973] (avec Un reel ben beau, ben triste et Y est midi Pierrette, dans la première publication des Éditions de la Pleine Lune; 1980 épuisé ne fait pas partie de la réédition. Disponible pour prêt)