Sébastien HARRISSON

Sébastien Harrisson graduated fom the playwriting program at the National Theatre School of Canada. He writes for stage, radio and television. He is one of the most unique and innovative voices among young Québec's young playwrights, as revealed by his plays Floes and Titanica, which premiered in Montreal in 2001 and France in 2004. His work has been translated into English, Flemish, Spanish and German. – 2009-01-13

 
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When available, click on the image to learn more about the publication , the cast , the set or other 's activities around the play.
Titles in alphabetical order
A Letter From Alaska Alexander Leon Grand Titanica, the Great Battle Gown Edmund C. Asher, London, 1968
 
A Letter From Alaska
  English translation by Leanna Brodie.
  Original title: D'Alaska (second volet d'un diptyque intitulé Suite nordique, précédé de Floes, Dramaturges Éditeurs, 2007).
Running time
  1 hour 10
Cast
  1 W, 1 M playting a teenager  More about the cast   More about the the suggested set
Synopsis
  One summer evening, in a suburban bungalow, a 70 year old woman is taken hostage by her neighbour teen. Time goes by, Miss accepts her fate and tries to supply the young broken hearted – not out – gay teenager the love and acceptance he won't get at home. She actually knows how he must feel since she just lost her female lover who left her and flew to Alaska. They slowly get to know one another, sharing the unspeakable pain of the past abandonments.
Excerpt
  « MISS: (offstage, artificially cheery) I’m behaving very well for a hostage, don’t you think? Co-operative, cheerful ! I haven’t shouted yet. That wouldn’t be good for my cough, though. I’m not even trying to escape. I don’t run very fast. It’s the first time I’ve been a hostage. And I thought I’d seen everything. I’ve thought about it before. I was always afraid that it would happen to me on a plane. But that’s absurd. Statistically absurd. Far more likely to happen at home. When you think about it. But at the same time, being held hostage at home is a plus. You have your creature comforts. Which alleviate the arduous aspect of the affair. The distasteful aspect. You have access to your fridge, and to your music. You like baroque? [...] »

 
Alexander Leon Grand [YA]
  English translation by Shelley Tepperman.
  Original title: Stanislas Walter LeGrand (Dramaturges Éditeurs, 2008).
Running time
  1 hour
Cast
  3 M  More about the cast   More about the the suggested set
Target audience: 8 to 12
Synopsis
  Alexander is reluctantly beginning a new life in a war-damaged country in the company of an old man he barely knows. Refusing to connect with anyone, he spends his time alone, bouncing his ball against an ancient stone wall. One day, a mysterious voice comes from the wall that claims to be the memory of centuries past, and shares its fears of demolition. The stories the wall tells will have an impact on Alexander and his future.
Excerpt
  « ALEXANDER : No one can survive inside a wall… / VOICE OF THE ARAB CHILD : I made myself small / ALEXANDER : You’d suffocate, there’s no air! / VOICE OF THE ARAB CHILD : Small and slender enough | To fit between two stones | As small as a whisper / ALEXANDER : A whisper? / VOICE OF THE ARAB CHILD : Yes | So when it feels Like all is about to end | That even this tiny whisper | Will be silenced | It’s worth attempting | A word to a stranger | In the hope of making a friend »

 
Titanica, the Great Battle Gown Edmund C. Asher, London, 1968 More about the publication
  English translation by Crystal Béliveau. Published by Playwrights Canada Press, 2008.
  Original title: Titanica, la robe des grands combats, Edmund C. Asher, Londres, 1968 (Leméac Éditeur, 2001).
This translation has been presented in a staged reading for "Transmissions 2003", as part of an exchange project between CEAD and Playwrights' Workshop Montreal, November 27, 2003.
Running time
  2 hours
Cast
  5 W, 5 M and a silent chorus (soldiers and punks) (5W5M)  More about the cast   More about the the suggested set
Synopsis
  Squatters take up residence on an abandoned dock where the Queen of England plans to rid her country of “an unspeakable evil;” the same evil which has taken the life of underground poet D.J. Lewis. Against a desolate backdrop of containers and factories, a walking sculpture comes to terms with how it feels to be imprisoned by the very cause she has chosen to defend. This is a play about art, history, and how we fight our battles. Ultimately, it is about how we choose to live our lives.
Excerpt
  « TITANICA: […] Titanica: the word was forever on his lips. Titanica! Titanica! As though this word alone had come to symbolize his great dream. A visionary, Edmund was! The winds of freedom were blowing, and yet he was filled with dread. "Our freedom will scare them… the self-righteous will strike back! We must be prepared!" That night, we became lovers. »
Other translations
  Also available in German

 
PLAYS AVAILABLE AT CEAD (Some notes in French may appear below)
  D'Alaska [YA] [2004] (second volet d'un diptyque intitulé Suite nordique, précédé de Floes, Dramaturges Éditeurs, 2007)
Un petit renard affolé sur l'épaule du génie [2003]
Stanislas Walter LeGrand [YA] [2000 - 2007] (Dramaturges Éditeurs, 2008)
Floes [2000] (premier volet d'un diptyque intitulé Suite nordique, suivi de D'Alaska, Dramaturges Éditeurs, 2007)
Titanica, la robe des grands combats, Edmund C. Asher, Londres, 1968 [1998 et 2000] (Leméac Éditeur, 2001)
 
PLAYS NOT YET TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH (Running time: 1 hour and more. Written and produced in French since 2000. Some notes in French may appear below)
  Stanislas Walter LeGrand [Young Audiences - Children] [2000 - 2007]
Published by Dramaturges Éditeurs, 2008.
First production in French: L'Arrière-scène, October 2007
Running time: 1 hour
Cast: 3 M
With an old man he hardly knows, Stanislas ends up in a country devasted by the war. He did not choose this new life and refuses to bond with anyone as he prefers to throw his ball against a stone wall. One day, a mysterious voice coming from the wall claims to be the Memory of the last centuries and is worried about the rumour of the reconstruction. The wall and the child will get used to each other and one's memories will meet with the other's future.

Floes [2000]
Published by premier volet d'un diptyque intitulé Suite nordique, suivi de D'Alaska, Dramaturges Éditeurs, 2007.
First production in French: Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui, February 2001
Running time: 1 hour 15
Cast: 1 W 2 M
An old couple is drifting on an ice patch in the Arctic Ocean. Adrien, who lived his life in the “comfort of novels”, refuses to die, whereas Paul, a retired doctor, is resigned to it. A she-bear’s lament revives their memory, and they are visited three times by the ghost of Lady Franklin, who has been pregnant for a hundred years. In the eternal night of the frozen sea, under lights that only they can see, these wandering ghosts shine like a lost constellation.